firelock_ny@hotmail.com wrote:

Harry Hope wrote:

From The Associated Press, 8/28/06:
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-republicans-minority-voters,0,4580026.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

GOP Gaffes Hurt Minority Outreach

By ERIN TEXEIRA
AP National Writer
Just as the GOP is pushing for minority voters, the two recent gaffes
have fed the perception among some blacks, Hispanics and
Asian-Americans that Republicans are out of touch with the changing
face of the nation.

"There is disconnect at some level," said Michael K. Fauntroy, a
professor of public policy at George Mason University.

If there's a disconnect, it doesn't appear to come from the top.

Attorney General Gonzales
Secretary of Commerce Gutierrez
Secretary of HUD Jackson
Secretary of Labor Chao
Secretary of State Rice

That's hilarious!

The funniest thing I've seen in days!

A claim that bush,jr's administration is in tune with the majority of
America!

Harry Hope wrote:

From The Associated Press, 8/28/06:

GOP Gaffes Hurt Minority Outreach
By ERIN TEXEIRA AP National Writer

One Republican senator described his house painter as a "little
Guatemalan man."

Another called an Indian man a "macaca," a type of monkey.

Reports surfaced last week that Sen. Conrad Burns, a Montana
Republican, called his house painter a "nice little Guatemalan man"
during a June speech.

Earlier this month, George Allen, a Republican senator from Virginia,
twice referred to an opponent's volunteer using a term for a monkey,
considered by some to be a racial slur.

"Let's give a welcome to Macaca here," Allen said.

...

Buncha right wing loser clowns.
Harry

..

I dunno.. sounds like the article just repeats two sentences.. for
infotainment effect or something.

And no, there is no such thing as a 'macaca' - it's a made up word.

<lorad474@cs.com> wrote in message

I dunno.. sounds like the article just repeats two sentences.. for
infotainment effect or something.

And no, there is no such thing as a 'macaca' - it's a made up word.

roflmao Try again, child.

Actually, the "macca thing" brings to light another piece of information
about Mr. Allen's background. "Macca" was a common expression around
French North Africa, which is the origin of his mother's family, who were
Sephardic Jews from Tunisia.

http://www.forward.com/articles/alleged-slur-casts-spotlight-on-senator%E2%80%99s-jewis/


Alleged Slur Casts Spotlight On Senator's (Jewish?) Roots


E.J. Kessler | Fri. August 25, 2006
When Senator George Allen of Virginia used a racial slur for dark-skinned
North Africans, "macaca," during a recent encounter with a young Indian
American cameraman from his opponent's campaign, many wondered where he
had learned the word.

Macaca means "monkey," but Allen's campaign insisted that the word was
made up, an inside joke on the young man's hairstyle. But some
commentators noted that Allen's mother is "French Tunisian," speculating
that Allen, who speaks French, had picked up the epithet from her.
(Allen's late father was famed Washington Redskins football coach George
Allen.)

Allen's mother, Henriette (Etty), whose maiden name was Lumbroso, is
indeed Francophone and Tunisian born, a heritage that forms a romantic
theme in "Fifth Quarter: The Scrimmage of a Football Coach's Daughter" the
memoir of Allen family life written by Allen's sister Jennifer. What's
more, it is likely that she's Jewish by birth, although no acknowledgment
of that heritage appears in the memoir.

Allen's campaign spokesman, Bill Bozin, did not return several detailed
messages, left over two days, that asked what the senator and his family
know about his mother's heritage.

Depending on what additional information comes out on the matter, the
controversy could end up resurrecting a dominant theme of the Democratic
primaries four years ago, when it turned out that no fewer than four
presidential hopefuls had significant Jewish ties: Senator Joseph
Lieberman was an Orthodox Jew; Senator John Kerry was descended from Jews
and had a brother who converted to Judaism; former general Wesley Clark
had a Jewish father; Howard Dean was married to a Jewish woman and raised
Jewish children.

For now, some political analysts are predicting that the macaca flap could
sink what until now had been viewed widely in Washington circles as
Allen's strong chance of emerging in 2008 as the conservative
standard-bearer in the race for the GOP presidential nomination. And
judging from recent polls, it is putting a crimp in what was supposed to
be a handy re-election bid in Virginia.

The incident is not the first time that Allen has faced criticism for
supposed racial insensitivity. The New Republic recently reported that
when he was a high school student, the senator, a native Californian, wore
a Confederate flag lapel pin; it further reported that even as an adult,
Allen sometimes displayed the Confederate flag as part of a flag
collection. In the 1980s, he stirred ire by opposing the establishment in
Virginia of Martin Luther King Day. But Allen points to more recent
efforts, such as a push to increase funds for Virginia's historically
black colleges, as evidence that he seeks to better race relations.

Allen's own African heritage casts a different light on the matter. Though
Etty Allen seems not to have dwelled on it during her years in the
spotlight as a coach's wife, she comes from the august Sephardic Jewish
Lumbroso family. Her father, who was the main importer of wines and
liquors in Tunis - including the Cinzano brand - was known in France,
where he lived after World War II, as part of the family, according to
French Jewish sources. If both of Etty's parents were born Jewish - which,
given her age and background, is likely - Senator Allen would be
considered Jewish in the eyes of traditional rabbinic law, which traces
Judaism through the mother.

This might complicate life for Allen, a practicing Presbyterian who
besides running for re-election this year in Virginia is often mentioned
as a possible Republican 2008 contender. Political analyst John Mercurio
of National Journal's noted tip sheet, The Hotline, said that any
complication "would depend largely on how this information was revealed."

"If it was discovered that Allen knew this family history, but attempted
to keep it under wraps for whatever reason, it could do great harm to any
political campaign," Mercurio wrote in an e-mail. "He'd face serious
questions, in the wake of the Macaca incident and his history with the
Confederate flag, of whether he's both racially prejudiced and
anti-semitic. Given the intensely pro-Israel sentiment that exists in this
country today, that could be a huge political liability - but on the other
hand, if this is something he discovers and promptly reveals about
himself, and does so with a sense of pride in his family history, I don't
think he'd face much backlash at all."

According to information compiled from several Sephardic genealogical Web
sites, the Lumbroso family originated in Portugal but made its way to
Livorno, or Leghorn, in Italy after the expulsion of the Jews from the
Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century. "Lumbroso" means "luminous" and is
a translation of the Hebrew word "nehora."

Allen is aware of at least the Italian connection, and trumpets it. On the
campaign trail recently, according to the online journal Salon, Allen
said: "I have my grandfather's bloodlines. My grandfather is
French-Italian. I have about one-sixteenth Spanish in me."

Dr. Jeffrey Malka, an expert on Sephardic genealogy, told the Forward in
an e-mail that in Portugal the Lumbrosos became conversos - unlike Spanish
Jews, Portuguese Jews were not allowed to leave and were forcibly
converted en masse - who escaped to Livorno, where they were able to
return to Judaism. Malka called the Livorno community "fascinating"
because, invited by the Medicis, they became wealthy and powerful traders,
setting up branches in Tunis and ransoming Jews captured by Barbary
pirates.

Among the most famous members of the family, Malka said, was Itzhak
Lumbroso, an 18th-century rabbi and rabbinic judge who wrote a commentary
on the Talmud, "Seed of Isaac," that was the first book printed in Hebrew
in Tunis.

If Allen wants to research his heritage, there are many resources
available. The marriage contracts of many Lumbrosos, for example, can be
found in historical compendia including "Registres Matrimoniaux de la
Communaute Juive Portugaise de Tunis, XVIII-XIX siecles."

Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that allows users to draft and edit the
entries, takes Allen's mother's Judaism as a given, saying that "Henrietta
Lumbroso was a Jewish immigrant of Tunisian/Italian/French background."

Malka, the Sephardic expert, said, "Interfaith marriage and/or baptism was
extremely rare among the Jews of Tunisia in the early 20th century -
mainly because the sense of being Jewish was very strong and it would have
been greatly frowned on."

There are intimations in Jennifer Allen's book of the family's Jewish
connection. She writes that when the Germans invaded North Africa during
World War II, "the Nazis took away my mother's father," although he
escaped from harm.

Senator Allen told the Richmond Times Dispatch in 2000 that his
grandfather was imprisoned because "he sympathized with the Free French
and the Allies and coveted the concepts of freedom of thought, expression,
religious belief and enterprise."

In another of the book's anecdotes, George Allen Sr., a practicing Roman
Catholic, encounters problems when he wants to marry his fiancee, Etty, in
a Catholic church.

"The priest said he would marry them only if Mom agreed to raise as
Catholic any children the marriage might produce," Jennifer Allen wrote.
"As a young woman, my mother had an 'incident' with a priest in Tunis, so
Mom said 'Over my dead body' to the priest. My mother and father were
married by a justice of the peace in a Jewish friend's home with two
witnesses."

Why was there any question as to whether Etty Allen would raise the family
Catholic, unless she herself wasn't baptized in the faith?

An e-mail message to Jennifer Allen came back with an automated reply
saying that she was on vacation and not reading her messages.

Senator Allen has been addressing the recent controversy. He issued a
statement to CNN in which he apologized to "anyone who may have [been]
offended by the misinterpretation of my remarks" and said the jibe at the
cameraman "was in no way intended to be racially derogatory." The young
man, S.R. Sidarth, has said that he perceived the name as a racial
comment.

Allen said in the statement that another comment he made to the young
man - "Let's give a welcome to Macaca here. Welcome to America and the
real world of Virginia" - was actually directed at his Democratic
opponent, James Webb.

"In singling out the Webb campaign's cameraman, I was trying to make the
point that Jim Webb had never been to that part of Virginia - and I
encouraged him to bring the tape back to Jim and welcome him to the real
world of Virginia and America, outside the Beltway, where he has rarely
visited," Allen said.

Despite Allen's explanations, the macaca episode appears to have damaged
him. Before the incident, polls had the senator leading Webb by about 19
percentage points; two polls taken afterward show him up by only three to
five points.

--
Lubow

Actually, the "macca thing" brings to light another piece of information
about Mr. Allen's background. "Macca" was a common expression around French
North Africa, which is the origin of his mother's family, who were Sephardic
Jews from Tunisia.

http://www.forward.com/articles/alleged-slur-casts-spotlight-on-senator%E2%80%99s-jewis/


Alleged Slur Casts Spotlight On Senator's (Jewish?) Roots


E.J. Kessler | Fri. August 25, 2006
When Senator George Allen of Virginia used a racial slur for dark-skinned
North Africans, "macaca," during a recent encounter with a young Indian
American cameraman from his opponent's campaign, many wondered where he had
learned the word.

Macaca means "monkey," but Allen's campaign insisted that the word was made
up, an inside joke on the young man's hairstyle. But some commentators noted
that Allen's mother is "French Tunisian," speculating that Allen, who speaks
French, had picked up the epithet from her. (Allen's late father was famed
Washington Redskins football coach George Allen.)

Allen's mother, Henriette (Etty), whose maiden name was Lumbroso, is indeed
Francophone and Tunisian born, a heritage that forms a romantic theme in
"Fifth Quarter: The Scrimmage of a Football Coach's Daughter" the memoir of
Allen family life written by Allen's sister Jennifer. What's more, it is
likely that she's Jewish by birth, although no acknowledgment of that
heritage appears in the memoir.

Allen's campaign spokesman, Bill Bozin, did not return several detailed
messages, left over two days, that asked what the senator and his family
know about his mother's heritage.

Depending on what additional information comes out on the matter, the
controversy could end up resurrecting a dominant theme of the Democratic
primaries four years ago, when it turned out that no fewer than four
presidential hopefuls had significant Jewish ties: Senator Joseph Lieberman
was an Orthodox Jew; Senator John Kerry was descended from Jews and had a
brother who converted to Judaism; former general Wesley Clark had a Jewish
father; Howard Dean was married to a Jewish woman and raised Jewish
children.

For now, some political analysts are predicting that the macaca flap could
sink what until now had been viewed widely in Washington circles as Allen's
strong chance of emerging in 2008 as the conservative standard-bearer in the
race for the GOP presidential nomination. And judging from recent polls, it
is putting a crimp in what was supposed to be a handy re-election bid in
Virginia.

The incident is not the first time that Allen has faced criticism for
supposed racial insensitivity. The New Republic recently reported that when
he was a high school student, the senator, a native Californian, wore a
Confederate flag lapel pin; it further reported that even as an adult, Allen
sometimes displayed the Confederate flag as part of a flag collection. In
the 1980s, he stirred ire by opposing the establishment in Virginia of
Martin Luther King Day. But Allen points to more recent efforts, such as a
push to increase funds for Virginia's historically black colleges, as
evidence that he seeks to better race relations.

Allen's own African heritage casts a different light on the matter. Though
Etty Allen seems not to have dwelled on it during her years in the spotlight
as a coach's wife, she comes from the august Sephardic Jewish Lumbroso
family. Her father, who was the main importer of wines and liquors in
Tunis - including the Cinzano brand - was known in France, where he lived
after World War II, as part of the family, according to French Jewish
sources. If both of Etty's parents were born Jewish - which, given her age
and background, is likely - Senator Allen would be considered Jewish in the
eyes of traditional rabbinic law, which traces Judaism through the mother.

This might complicate life for Allen, a practicing Presbyterian who besides
running for re-election this year in Virginia is often mentioned as a
possible Republican 2008 contender. Political analyst John Mercurio of
National Journal's noted tip sheet, The Hotline, said that any complication
"would depend largely on how this information was revealed."

"If it was discovered that Allen knew this family history, but attempted to
keep it under wraps for whatever reason, it could do great harm to any
political campaign," Mercurio wrote in an e-mail. "He'd face serious
questions, in the wake of the Macaca incident and his history with the
Confederate flag, of whether he's both racially prejudiced and anti-semitic.
Given the intensely pro-Israel sentiment that exists in this country today,
that could be a huge political liability - but on the other hand, if this is
something he discovers and promptly reveals about himself, and does so with
a sense of pride in his family history, I don't think he'd face much
backlash at all."

According to information compiled from several Sephardic genealogical Web
sites, the Lumbroso family originated in Portugal but made its way to
Livorno, or Leghorn, in Italy after the expulsion of the Jews from the
Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century. "Lumbroso" means "luminous" and is a
translation of the Hebrew word "nehora."

Allen is aware of at least the Italian connection, and trumpets it. On the
campaign trail recently, according to the online journal Salon, Allen said:
"I have my grandfather's bloodlines. My grandfather is French-Italian. I
have about one-sixteenth Spanish in me."

Dr. Jeffrey Malka, an expert on Sephardic genealogy, told the Forward in an
e-mail that in Portugal the Lumbrosos became conversos - unlike Spanish
Jews, Portuguese Jews were not allowed to leave and were forcibly converted
en masse - who escaped to Livorno, where they were able to return to
Judaism. Malka called the Livorno community "fascinating" because, invited
by the Medicis, they became wealthy and powerful traders, setting up
branches in Tunis and ransoming Jews captured by Barbary pirates.

Among the most famous members of the family, Malka said, was Itzhak
Lumbroso, an 18th-century rabbi and rabbinic judge who wrote a commentary on
the Talmud, "Seed of Isaac," that was the first book printed in Hebrew in
Tunis.

If Allen wants to research his heritage, there are many resources available.
The marriage contracts of many Lumbrosos, for example, can be found in
historical compendia including "Registres Matrimoniaux de la Communaute
Juive Portugaise de Tunis, XVIII-XIX siecles."

Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that allows users to draft and edit the
entries, takes Allen's mother's Judaism as a given, saying that "Henrietta
Lumbroso was a Jewish immigrant of Tunisian/Italian/French background."

Malka, the Sephardic expert, said, "Interfaith marriage and/or baptism was
extremely rare among the Jews of Tunisia in the early 20th century - mainly
because the sense of being Jewish was very strong and it would have been
greatly frowned on."

There are intimations in Jennifer Allen's book of the family's Jewish
connection. She writes that when the Germans invaded North Africa during
World War II, "the Nazis took away my mother's father," although he escaped
from harm.

Senator Allen told the Richmond Times Dispatch in 2000 that his grandfather
was imprisoned because "he sympathized with the Free French and the Allies
and coveted the concepts of freedom of thought, expression, religious belief
and enterprise."

In another of the book's anecdotes, George Allen Sr., a practicing Roman
Catholic, encounters problems when he wants to marry his fiancee, Etty, in a
Catholic church.

"The priest said he would marry them only if Mom agreed to raise as Catholic
any children the marriage might produce," Jennifer Allen wrote. "As a young
woman, my mother had an 'incident' with a priest in Tunis, so Mom said 'Over
my dead body' to the priest. My mother and father were married by a justice
of the peace in a Jewish friend's home with two witnesses."

Why was there any question as to whether Etty Allen would raise the family
Catholic, unless she herself wasn't baptized in the faith?

An e-mail message to Jennifer Allen came back with an automated reply saying
that she was on vacation and not reading her messages.

Senator Allen has been addressing the recent controversy. He issued a
statement to CNN in which he apologized to "anyone who may have [been]
offended by the misinterpretation of my remarks" and said the jibe at the
cameraman "was in no way intended to be racially derogatory." The young man,
S.R. Sidarth, has said that he perceived the name as a racial comment.

Allen said in the statement that another comment he made to the young man -
"Let's give a welcome to Macaca here. Welcome to America and the real world
of Virginia" - was actually directed at his Democratic opponent, James Webb.

"In singling out the Webb campaign's cameraman, I was trying to make the
point that Jim Webb had never been to that part of Virginia - and I
encouraged him to bring the tape back to Jim and welcome him to the real
world of Virginia and America, outside the Beltway, where he has rarely
visited," Allen said.

Despite Allen's explanations, the macaca episode appears to have damaged
him. Before the incident, polls had the senator leading Webb by about 19
percentage points; two polls taken afterward show him up by only three to
five points.