In 2023, “Saturday Night Live” struck gold with a historical sketch where, in 1776, then-General George Washington laid out his dream for the future of America after the Revolutionary War. The twist is that his dream is to promote a series of nonsensical American cultural quirks, such as the refusal to adopt the metric system and the arbitrary ways American English differs from the UK’s.The sketch was a great send-up of the cultural differences that separate Americans from their cousins across the pond and stand-up comedian Nate Bargatze, as Washington, delivered them in a pitch-perfect deadpan.The sketch was the second most popular from SNL season 49 and introduced the low-key stand-up comedian to a much wider audience. On October 5, 2024, Bargatze returned to host SNL and once again donned the powdered wig as Washington. This time, America’s first president addressed his troops, played again by Mikey Day, Kenan Thompson and Bowen Yang, about his dream for America from a boat crossing the Delaware.In the second “Washington’s Dream” sketch, the general tells his soldiers that he hopes the new country will "do our own thing with the English language." - YouTube www.youtube.com "I dream that one day, our great nation will have a word for the number 12. We shall call it a dozen," Bargatze's Washington says."And what other numbers will we have a word for?" a soldier asks."None," Washington replies. "Only '12' shall have its own word because we are free men, and we will be free to spell some words two different ways." Which ones? "Doughnut, and the name 'Jeff'," he explains, noting that there’s "the short way with the J and the stupid way with the G."Washington also plans to differentiate some living animals from those on our plates. "We will also have two names for animals: One when they're alive and a different one when they become food," Washington explains. "So cows will be 'beef.' Pigs will be 'pork.'""And chickens, sir?" Yang asks. "That one stays. Chickens are 'chicken'," says Washington. "And we will create our own foods, and name them what we want. Like the hamburger.""Made of ham, sir?" Day asks. "If it only were that simple," Washington adds. "A hamburger is made of beef, just as a 'buffalo wing' is made of chicken." However, he assures his troops that a hot dog is not made from man’s best friend. "A real American would never want to know what's in a hot dog, just as they will never know why."Just like the original “Washington’s Dream,” the sketch was co-written by cast member Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell, with Mike DiCenzo. The bit was initially conceived by SNL writer Seidell, who was surprised by how well the counterintuitive casting worked. “I forget who we originally wrote it for, but it was very much a dramatic actor who would play more of a serious Washington,” he told Indiewire. “You can see that version of it, but in hindsight Nate was the perfect person to do it because it had this charm that I don’t know that it would have with a real powerful George Washington. An Academy Award-winning actor might have taken it too seriously.”Here is the original "Washington's Dream" sketch: - YouTube www.youtube.com SNL will return on Saturday, October 12, featuring host Ariana Grande and a musical performance by Stevie Nicks.

Not on the same creative wavelength. The post “What are we doing?”: The album that divided Led Zeppelin first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

Sadly prophetic. The post The poignant words Jimi Hendrix said right before he set fire to his guitar first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

The jukebox heroes are still playing live.

My family moved from Baltimore to Israel in August 2012, two weeks before starting high school. I wasn’t thrilled. The first person I saw in the first classroom I entered was a young man named David Newman. David was born in Israel and was everything I wasn’t. He spoke Hebrew. I didn’t. He was at home in the culture. I was lost. He was confident. I was shy. In time, we became close friends. In terms of becoming comfortable and at home in Israel, David raised me. Last Oct. 6, David borrowed my car to attend the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel with his girlfriend, Noam. Before he drove away, I said what came so naturally: “I love you. See you tomorrow.” But tomorrow never came. That was the last time I saw David alive. When I walked into Jerusalem’s YTA High School, I was short and chubby. While I had been an all-star Little League pitcher in America, no one ever accused me of being athletic. David wasn’t exactly an athletic build either, though when he devoted himself to working out and transforming himself, I followed his lead. When I felt like quitting, David pushed me, and that became a pattern. Football? David pushed me. Ultimate frisbee? David pushed me. Whenever I confronted my comfort zone, which was often, David pushed me. After high school, David and I stayed close, and he kept pushing me. He insisted that we travel the world simultaneously, but each on his own. Traveling individually, David told me, would let each of us delve deeper into himself. I wasn’t fully on board with his discover-yourself-by-yourself idea, but David’s confidence won the day. We booked tickets for Central America and made a pact to keep it solo and not travel together. A month into my journey, I was on Mexico’s Isla Mujeres. I called David to check on his progress. By coincidence, we were on the same island! That was the beginning of the end of our discover-yourself-by-yourself pact. We met at midday for tacos. Lunch turned into dinner. Dinner became a weekend that stretched on for six amazing weeks of travel and shared self-discovery. After returning from Mexico, we moved in together until David and Noam jetted off to India and Sri Lanka. By May 2023, I was sharing an apartment with four other close high school friends. One day I texted David, “When are you coming back?” He replied: “I’ll be back in two weeks, and the couch better be clean because I’m moving in with you guys.” David, Gabe, Gani, Moshe, and me. We were together again, having even more fun than in our high school days. And then came Oct. 6. That Friday morning, I awoke to everything I loved about living with David. We both woke up late, after a night of partying. We prepared our bucket-sized French press of stronger-than-strong coffee, and made a ridiculously large shakshuka for breakfast, ceviche, and garlic bread. David mentioned that he wanted to attend a music festival with Noam the next day. He asked to borrow my car.  “Of course, bro,” I replied. “I just need you to drop me at my parent’s place for Shabbat.” Hours later, when David left me there, I turned to him and said, “I love you. See you tomorrow.” And then I watched David drive off, for the last time. Air raid sirens shook us awake on Saturday morning, Oct. 7. After quickly checking the news, the first thing I did was text David. “I hope you’re up north.” He responded, “Pray for me, and pray for your car.” His sense of humor remained still intact. I had no inkling of how bad things actually were. No one did. An hour later, another text arrived. “Pray for me,” David wrote. “Something terrible has happened.” He said that he was at the Nova Festival and that he, Noam, and 14 others were hiding in a dumpster. My life was about to change. Gidon, another close friend of David’s, and I decided we needed to find him. After donating blood and picking up a couple of guns and bulletproof vests, we headed south with Ezra, David’s cousin, and, like David, a hero. I received David’s final text around noon. “F-ing pray for me now!” An hour later, Gidon and Ezra hitched a ride on an ambulance, passed through Israel’s hastily constructed new border on Route 232, and prayed that they would find David. Route 232 had become a causeway of brutal carnage. Though they didn’t save David, they saved many other lives. We spent the next day desperately seeking David. Our search ended abruptly on Sunday night, Oct. 8. We received a photo on WhatsApp. Amid a pile of bodies in a field, we identified David. We recognized his shoes and the shirt he borrowed from me on Friday night. I suddenly was lost. David was a huge, strong, fill-the-room-with-life guy. Always dancing and smiling, always bringing light and love into every life he touched, and I just identified his lifeless body. It was like falling into a bottomless pit. While searching for him, I absolutely believed he was alive. I imagined him walking out of Gaza, gun slung over his shoulder, smiling, and reassuring us that everything would be okay.  Then, suddenly, nothing was right. Nothing was okay. Nothing has been okay since. In many ways, before Oct. 7, I was blinded by the ease with which my life was unfolding. I gave little thought to Jewish history, the meaning of being a Jew, or my place in this world. That night, all I could do was think. My heart was shattered, my mind was racing, and the only clear thing was my intense urge to do something. I opened a WhatsApp group, called it “Let’s Do Something,” and added several of David’s friends. I wrote a document in which I explained that, one way or another, we were going to help Israel. Within 24 hours, we transformed our friend’s mother’s Long Island home into a warehouse. We suddenly were immersed in phone calls with Israeli soldiers, their commanders, and their families. We gathered the gear that they desperately needed and scheduled a flight with El-Al Cargo to bring it immediately to Israel. Shortly before David’s funeral began on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 10 tons of aid that we had arranged landed at David Ben Gurion Airport. Next stop: The Israel Defense Forces and its soldiers who, even then, were rushing into battle to defend us all. I barely remember those first days and months. I was immersed in a haze of shock and grief-based reaction, and an overwhelming sense that I needed to help my people and country — the same people and country to which I previously had given little thought. Somehow, Ike Bodner, David Gani, Gidon Hazony, Moshe Shear, and I launched an organization called Soldiers Save Lives, now called Let’s Do Something. Over the last year, Let’s Do Something has evolved from a group of grieving best friends from high school who wanted to do something into a nonprofit organization that has served over 70,000 soldiers and refugee families. Some 50 million people worldwide have read, watched, and listened to our social media posts. And we just launched David’s Circle, a trauma healing center in Thailand. This sanctuary offers essential, multidisciplinary care and support to the wounded souls of soldiers and Nova survivors as they strive toward recovery and wellness. Oct. 7 unleashed collective trauma across Israeli society. Collective trauma requires collective healing, and David’s Circle, led by highly regarded trauma specialists and a team of qualified volunteer therapists, is beginning to fill the large and pressing need for collective healing. Let’s Do Something’s mission is to inspire pro-Israel engagement, enhance Israeli defenses, and serve those affected by Oct. 7. In memory of David Newman, somehow, this group of friends whom I love so much has done incredible things over the last year. I have accomplished things I never imagined possible. None of us is the same man or woman whom we were last Oct. 6. Alas, none of this will bring back David, and for that, we will ache forever. When I told David, “I love you. See you tomorrow,” that wasn’t a question. It was a statement.  It took the awful murder of my best friend to help me understand what my people have faced for thousands of years. If we defeat our enemies, stand strong, and thrive for another 3,000 years, it only will happen by doing something, together. I sincerely hope that nobody else must lose a friend, brother, mother, cousin, or neighbor to realize what he or she needs to do. I now understand that we all possess the capacity to do something that truly matters.  I urge you: Don’t wait for tomorrow, because tomorrow doesn’t always come. Baruch “Bucky” Apisdorf is the CEO of Jerusalem-based Let’s Do Something. The post ‘I Love You. See You Tomorrow’: Oct. 7, the Day My Life Changed Forever appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

The New York Times recently profiled Nerdeen Kiswani, the organizer of the radical pro-Hamas and antisemitic organization Within Our Lifetime. In this episode of The Spectator P.M. Podcast, hosts Ellie Gardey Holmes and Lyrah Margo discuss the organization and its anti-Israeli rhetoric. Ellie and Lyrah also talk about the anti-Israel protests on college campuses. Tune in to hear their discussion! Read Ellie and Lyrah’s writing here and here. Listen to the Spectator P.M. Podcast on Spotify. Watch the Spectator P.M. Podcast on Rumble. The post <i>The Spectacle P.M.</i> Ep. 81: Radical Organization ‘Within Our Lifetime’ Incites Violence Against Israel appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Hamas’ terrorist attack shattered Israel; it also shattered Israel’s precedents for fighting terrorism. As Hamas has refused to free its hostages, it has also increasingly freed Israel from prior restraints on using its superior military force. A year ago, Hamas’ surprise act of terrorism indiscriminately targeted every Jew it found. Twelve hundred men, women, and children were murdered; hostages were taken; unspeakable atrocities were committed. All were conscious and premeditated. These were not collateral casualties; they were the attack’s intent. Unbelievably, the isolation of Israel began almost immediately. Led by the Left, calls came for Israel’s temperance in response to terror. Somehow, Israel was cast as the aggressor; it only increased over time. Day by day over 365 days, from Gaza to American college campuses, it became easy to get lost in the puzzle pieces and lose sight of its picture. Hamas had unleashed total war on Israel: it had done all within its power to do, to all it could manage to do it. There were no noncombatants; there were no civilians. No longer was this just the one-off act of terror that Israel had sadly become accustomed to, but, with hostages held and attacks continued, this was all-out, ongoing war. There were no longer norms, even within the unconventional ones of terrorism. Israel has long had overwhelming military superiority. Time and again, it has responded with this in conventional wars. Israel’s enemies have therefore resorted to unconventional and immoral acts of terrorism to minimize their evil efforts. Israel has responded in kind to these isolated acts with isolated actions. Always the winner, Israel’s responses were limited in intensity and duration. In sum, Israel targeted terrorism’s appendage, not its body. Over the last year, it has become clear that today’s Israeli response is different. It is not simply quantitatively so — lasting longer, extending further, and involving more resources. It is also qualitatively different. Israel is now going after Hamas’ entire terrorist infrastructure, wherever it is — even when embedded in civilian surroundings, as Hamas is wont to do. It is aimed at the body, not simply an appendage. With hostages still held and rockets still launched, Hamas has allowed Israel to fully understand what it faces. And in the process, it has given Israel carte blanche freedom to respond. Israel has shown an increasing willingness to strike Hamas where it is hiding, no longer waiting for it to emerge. Simultaneously, Israel is increasingly willing to use the full panoply of its military power — ground forces, airpower, espionage — and across an expanded theater of operations: no longer just in Gaza, but also in Lebanon and Iran. Israel’s changed tactics also show a changed strategy. Israel is now willing to go to almost any length — and any location — to eradicate the terrorism threatening it. No one who participates in, or facilitates, this terrorism is safe or out of reach. This changed Israeli strategy also undermines civilian support for terrorists operating in their midst. It does no less to the states sponsoring it. Israel’s message to Iran is unmistakable. Israel has clearly demonstrated its ability to penetrate its enemies’ territory, defenses, and communications. These demonstrations give Iran a choice: stand down and desert its proxies or suffer something of their fate. Both options threaten Iran’s credibility and stability. Deserting its proxies makes these groups question Iran’s implicit guarantee of support. Provoking an unwinnable conflict with Israel means risking an embarrassing defeat that undermines the Iranian regime’s ability to continue cowing its own citizens into submission. Ironically, Hamas and its supporters have brought all this on Hamas. And on Hezbollah. And on Iran. Chants of “From the river to the sea” have made Israel understand negotiations’ limits. Those demanding nothing less than everything will never be satisfied with anything less, so there is little logic in making an offer of something. The Land for Peace strategy has become another casualty of Hamas. The idea of a Palestinian state seems remote when the prospect exists that such a state will turn over its government to terrorists. Hamas and its supporters have first attacked and now vilified Israel to the point that Israel has nothing left to lose and nowhere left to turn but to its own resources. Hamas unleashed an unexpected terror attack, but in turn it precipitated Israel to unleash an unexpected response. Israel is fighting the West’s war. However, the Arabs are only slightly less interested in seeing Hamas destroyed and Iran brought to heel — thereby destroying the terror in their midst that they cannot control — than is Israel itself. All this has come from Hamas and its supporters … and from Israel refusing to suffer the sensibilities of those who themselves haven’t suffered. READ MORE: One Year Since Oct. 7, Iran Is in Israel’s Crosshairs ‘I Love You. See You Tomorrow’: Oct. 7, the Day My Life Changed Forever The post The Lion of Judah Unleashed appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

by Lew Rockwell, Lew Rockwell: Most readers of my weekly column already favor a libertarian society, with either a strictly limited government or no government at all. They realize what a disaster the state has been. What are the philosophical foundations of this outlook?  There are many possible answers, but in this column, I’m going […]

by Michael Snyder, End Of The American Dream: Most people in the western world have no idea how serious the situation in the Middle East has become.  I have been using the word “existential” to describe this conflict, because ultimately this is a war for all the marbles.  Both sides are willing to do whatever […]