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The Jewish Traveler: Honolulu
By Alan M. Tigay January 2009
Hawai'i's capital city charms with its breathtaking scenery, laidback racial and religious harmony and the warmth of its people—natives and transplants.
Maybe Paradise isn't a singular location but something like the poles, with two on opposite sides of the planet. That might explain why Hawai'i, which lies more than 8,000 miles from the likely Middle Eastern site of the Garden of Eden, is so idyllic.
For visitors, it is a tropical wonderland of warmth, sea breezes, flowers—and sometimes mystery. For residents, it is a racial and religious place of fraternity, where Jewish is one color of the rainbow, where all-men-are-created-equal was lived even before it was adopted as part of American heritage. It's a place where a Jewish woman can become governor and a native son who refers to some canines as "mutts like me" can grow up to be president.
And in the middle of the Hawaiian archipelago lies Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, the seemingly perfect combination of laid-back beach resort and vibrant city of culture, history and shopping.
Considering Hawai'i's remoteness from the Jewish starting point, it's no surprise that the first, mysterious reference to Jews in the islands was delayed. According to the log of the whaling vessel Neptune, in 1798 the Hawaiian king came aboard and brought "a Jew cook with him." No one knows today if the reference was true and, if so, where the Jewish chef might have come from.
By the middle of the 19th century, Jewish traders from England, Germany and the United States came to Hawai'i, some becoming coffee planters or suppliers to sugar plantations. An organized Jewish community emerged in 1901 with the founding of the Hebrew Benevolent Society. The first permanent congregation was established in 1938, eventually becoming Temple Emanu-El. By 1941, the Army and Navy both had posted rabbis to Hawai'i; Navy Chaplain H. Cerf Straus and Army Chaplain Harry Richmond were present during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The Jewish community grew slowly but steadily. Among the milestones in the community's growth were the arrival of Jewish refugees from China after World War II and the return of G.I.'s who had passed through Hawai'i during World War II and the Vietnam war.
The generally accepted figure for Hawai'i's Jewish population is 10,000, with about half in and around Honolulu and most of the rest on Maui, Kauai and the Big Island of Hawai'i. But most experts agree that the proportion of hidden Jews—those who are neither affiliated nor visibly identified with the community—is especially large. "Jews don't come to Hawai'i to be Jewish," observes Rabbi Peter Schaktman of Temple Emanu-El. "Mainland synagogues are sanctuaries for whatever spiritual journey you are on, but Hawai'i is a spiritual refuge of its own. Here, it's as if you have to get off the highway to take part" in Jewish life.
For those who make the effort, Jewish life has blended nicely into the Hawaiian quilt. Local Jews have combined shalom with aloha (which means "hello," "good-bye" and "love") into their own greeting: shaloha. At every synagogue, membership reflects the state's diverse racial makeup, with many Asian, Polynesian and hapa (mixed) faces. Many worshipers sport the shaloha kippa, with a tropical flora pattern.
In most respects, the Jewish community's occupational profile is similar to that on the mainland, with doctors, lawyers and university professors, people in the entertainment industry, real estate and jewelers. The one additional element is military retirees.
The best single source for information on Jewish Hawai'i is the Alohacyberian Web site, https://home.att.net/~ keith.martin/zjHawaii.html, which provides background on Hawai'i's Jewish community and history and also has up-to-date links to all of the congregations in the islands.
Honolulu has an active Hadassah group; for information about events, contact chapter president Robyne Bush (808-664-5735;sbush61@earthlink.net).
Arguably the most important landmark in Honolulu, Iolani Palace, which was the seat of the Hawaiian monarchy, is the only royal residence in the United States. Built by King David Kalakaua, the mansion served its intended purpose from 1882 until 1893, when Kalakaua's sister and successor, Queen Lili'uokalani, was overthrown. In 1898, the Hawaiian Islands were annexed by the United States.
The Victorian façade of Iolani Palace is recognizable to many Americans because it was often featured in the television series Hawaii Five-0. Perhaps the most striking interior feature is wood, especially the stairways and doors made of Hawaiian koa.
Kalakaua was a progressive king and scholar. At a time when no sitting American president had ever visited a foreign country, the Hawaiian king traveled around the world. Iolani Palace had electricity and telephones installed before the White House did. And as tour guides routinely point out, the leader of a remote island kingdom kept up on world affairs by regularly receiving foreign visitors.
The most consequential Jewish visitor during Kalakaua's reign was Elias Abram Rosenberg, a learned but possibly disreputable man who arrived in Honolulu in January 1887. Several theories have been advanced to explain the friendship that developed between the king and Rosenberg, most of which include an element of Kalakaua's boundless curiosity. The king gave his new friend a job as a customs appraiser. According to a columnist in the Hawaiian Gazette, Rosenberg was teaching the king Hebrew and, possibly, reading his horoscope.
It all ended quickly. After only six months in Honolulu, Rosenberg set sail for San Francisco, where he died a month later. Before leaving, however, he left in the king's possession a Torah and a yad, possibly as collateral for a loan. After the monarchy was overthrown and an organized Jewish community formed, the king's heirs routinely loaned the items to the community during the High Holidays. It is recorded that in the 1920s the Jewish congregation would return the Torah to Princess Abigail, Kalakaua's niece, with a dozen roses. But sometime between 1930 and 1940, as royal possessions were divided among various descendants, the Torah and yad mysteriously disappeared. The yad surfaced in 1959 and was given to Temple Emanu-El, as was the Torah after it was found in 1972. Iolani Palace, on the corner of King and Richard Streets, offers tours daily (reservations advised; 808-522-0822;www.iolanipalace.org).
One block from the palace, on Beretania Street, is Washington Place, the official residence of Hawai'i's governor. The Greek Revival mansion was built in 1847 and, though it is now a museum, it is still the governor's ceremonial home. Linda Lingle, the state's first Jewish governor, was also the first to begin her term in the new residence, built next to Washington Place. She hosts a Passover Seder every year at the older mansion. When she moved into the governor's new home, Rabbi Itchel Krasnjansky of Chabad nailed a mezuza to the doorpost.
A 20-minute drive from downtown Honolulu is Pearl Harbor. No visit to the United States naval base is complete without a pilgrimage to the memorial of the U.S.S. Arizona (808-422-0561;www.nps.gov/usar), which accounted for half of the 2,400 American deaths on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. A ferry takes visitors to the swooping white structure that straddles the wreck of the battleship. On a plaque dedicated to the sailors who gave their lives are the words from the Priestly Blessing, "May God make His face to shine upon them and grant them peace."
Pearl Harbor also has a Jewish landmark, the Aloha Jewish Chapel. Built in 1975—when the congregation transferred from quontset huts—the current sanctuary was the first chapel built exclusively by the United States government as a Jewish place of worship. The nondenominational congregation is located just inside the naval base's Makalapa Gate, so visitors can enter only by arrangement and accompanied by someone with a military ID.
The building's exterior is a series of arches. The ornate wooden doors were imported from Israel. The interior has a stucco ceiling, white-brick side walls and a wooden eastern wall with blue trim and blue velvet chairs on the bima. To one side are flags from the various armed services.
But the chapel is much more than just a building. It has a unique warmth that can be felt by anyone who visits. The best explanation is a combination of the Jewish ethic of helping one another, the military ethic of looking out for comrades as well as the transient membership (70 percent) in which congregants have to take care of each other because families are far away.
A fair number of the members are submariners, whose families stay behind when they are at sea and find support in the congregational embrace. It's a moving sight when a naval officer arrives in khaki to show the sanctuary to a visitor, then ducks into the men's room and emerges in his dress whites just so he can take the Torah out of the Ark. After a fund-raising campaign, the chapel dedicated a new Torah in October 2008. (An older Torah had been brought by Jews from China after World War II.)
The Aloha Jewish Chapel has services on Friday nights and Saturday mornings and Torah study on Monday evenings. To arrange a visit, call 808-473-3972.
There is one more mystery—also featuring Jews and Hawaiian royalty of a sort—involving the chapel. Clarissa Halili Nelson was a folk hero, a singer, hula dancer, actress, comedian and television star who, when she died in 1979, left behind a small empire of Hawaiian-themed gift stores. She also endowed a classroom at the Aloha Jewish Chapel. Some congregants believe she was Jewish, though there is no evidence to support the theory, and no one seems to know the story behind the bequest.
Closer to downtown, Honolulu's civilian Jewish core is along Pali Highway. Temple Emanu-El is the largest congregation in the state, with 280 member families. The Reform synagogue's two-story brick building has a sloping roof that looks vaguely Japanese—two near neighbors include a Buddhist and Shinto temple—and covered walkways. The sanctuary is mostly wood with muted yellow stained-glass windows. Shabbat services (held every Friday night and at least one or two Saturday mornings per month) are casual; don't be surprised to see kids running around barefoot.
To the left of the bima, in a place of honor, is a glass case—decorated with the crest of the Hawaiian royal family—containing the Kalakaua Torah and yad. The Torah, no longer fit for use, is said to be slightly yellowed only around the chapters read between Rosh Hashana and Sukkot, which is when the scroll was typically loaned to the Jewish community; the rest is close to the original white.
Temple Emanu-El (2550 Pali Highway; 808-595-7521;www.shaloha.com) is also notable for its garden, with olive and ironwood trees, various species of palm, staghorn ferns, bougainvillea and plumeria.
Directly across the street from Temple Emanu-El is the First Unitarian Church, which houses Honolulu's Conservative congregation, Sof Ma'arav (2500 Pali Highway;www.sofmaarav.org). The havura-style group takes its name from the Judah Halevi poem that says, "My heart is in the east and I am at the end of the west [sof ma'arav]." The 50-family congregation holds Saturday morning services with a high level of member participation and an ambience that may be even more casual than neighboring Temple Emanu-El. Don't be surprised if the Torah reader is barefoot.
The congregation most convenient to the Waikiki hotels where most tourists stay is Chabad of Hawaii, located in the Ala Moana Hotel at 410 Atkinson Street. Chabad (808-735-8161; www.chabadofha waii.com) is also the only place in Honolulu to find weekday Shaharit services as well as Shabbat Friday evening and Saturday morning services.
In Waikiki, at the intersection of Kalakaua Avenue and Olohana Street, is the Brothers in Valor Monument, dedicated to Japanese-American troops who served in World War II. The monument, which consists of plaques near the street and a sculpture in the adjacent park of Fort DeRussy, has at least two Jewish angles.
The plaque dedicated to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (the most highly decorated unit of the war) notes that part of the 442nd liberated Dachau and other concentrations camps in March 1945. A small stone next to the plaques near the street is in honor of Judith M. Weightman, a law professor who conceived the monument after she interviewed some of the troops involved in the liberation of Dachau for a documentary film.
The central sculpture of the memorial, by Bumpei Akaji, a 442nd veteran, is in the shape of an eternal flame, but from some angles looks like the Hebrew letter shin.
The island of Maui is home to as many as 3,000 Jews. The largest concentration is on the southwest coast, especially in Kihei, where the Jewish Congregation of Maui is located (634 Alulike Street; 808-874-5397; www.mauijews.org). "Our numbers are growing, but there's always an ebb and flow and a tiny volunteer base," says Rabbi David Glickman, who first came to the island as part of a research team studying whales.
The 135-member congregation is not affiliated with any movement. It encourages worshipers to use any prayer book they like, though the page numbers given during services are from the Conservative Sim Shalom siddur. Glickman refers to the synagogue's ritual as "minhag Maui." A typical Shabbat service draws about 20 people in June and 50 in the winter. High Holiday services attract 400 to 500.
The synagogue is one block from the beach. Though its garden is not as neatly landscaped as Temple Emanu-El's in Honolulu, it is more diverse, with figs and pomegranates, areka palms, kukui nuts, orange, banana, papaya, plumbago, plumeria, hibiscus and night-blooming jasmine.
The Maui Mitzvah Center (808-249-8770; www.jewishmaui.com), a congregation following Chabad tradition, has Shabbat services and Friday night dinners in the upcountry town of Kula as well as a center for classes and holiday events in Kahului, on the island's north shore.
The Big Island has a Jewish community in Kona. For details on services and events, go to www.konabeth shalom.org. For a Jewish connection on Kauai, go to www.jewishcommuni tyofkauai.org or call the president, Martin Kahn, at 808-822-5281.
Hawai'i's Jewish community is known best through its daughters. In addition to Governor Lingle, there is Bette Midler, whose family attended the Aloha Chapel. Allegra Goodman's parents were among the founders of Sof Ma'arav; her books with Hawaiian settings include Total Immersion and Paradise Park (both Dial Press). The dance magnate Arthur Murray spent much of his retirement in Hawai'i and endowed a fund, administered by the Jewish Community Services of Hawai'i, to help Jews in need.
Other prominent Jews are Brian Schatz, chairman of the state Democratic Party; Mark Bennett, state attorney general; and Stephen Little, director of Honolulu Academy of Arts.
There are no kosher restaurants in Hawai'i, though fish and vegetarian dishes are easy to find. In Honolulu, Chabad's Friday night communal dinner welcomes tourists who make advance reservations. The Web site www.oahu kosher.com can supply kosher meals to hotels. Kosher products can be found in various supermarkets, including Safeway, Star Market, Foodland and Times.
Even if you are just staying on Oahu, you still have a hard choice. You should explore all over the island, looking not only for sun and sand but also for music and museums. One hour north of Honolulu is the Polynesian Cultural Center (www.polynesia.com), which showcases the lifeways and arts of peoples across the Pacific, from Hawai'i to Tahiti to New Zealand. On the other hand, you can just stay on Waikiki Beach, where the music is soothing, ubiquitous and almost always free.
A convenient place to start your orientation is with the Oahu Visitors Bureau (www.visit-oahu.com).
On Maui, the resort area closest to the synagogue in Kihei is Wailea, and a good choice there is the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort and Spa (www.marriott.com). In Honolulu, there's no place more entrancing than the Moana Surfrider (www.moana-surfrider.com), the queen of Waikiki hotels. It's a perfect place to sit under a banyan tree or on the beach and wonder if the Garden of Eden consists of two poles. H
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The Crown of the Universe, Rob SPIE Book I
ByXela McArthur
Fifteen-year-old Rob finds himself catapulted into the adventure of a lifetime by his split-second decision to follow a mysterious old man named Edward. The man introduces Rob to a secret friend, and escorts him to Headquarters Space Station, the base for a covert group of intergalactic special forces known as SPIE. As one of their newest recruits, Rob suddenly finds himself leading a team of young agents. Early in their training the newly formed Team Liberty is put to the test. The Crown of the Universe, lost during the War of the Universe and hidden for more than a decade, is on the move and Team Liberty may be the only one who can save it. Have they learned enough to find the crown before it falls into the wrong hands?
By (author): Xela McArthur
FanstasySpaceHeroFiction
About Xela McArthur

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Craig Pallett
Composer | Producer | MultiMedia Artist
The Grace of Your Love – Ensembles
Posted on April 3, 2016 by craig
When I decided to go back to school in August 2013 to get my masters, I needed to submit a score. In the 1970's probably wrote over 50 large ensemble compositions, primarily for Jazz Ensembles, "Turbulence" and even more paid arrangements/scores for a variety of artists, Rock and Funk bands and commissions. Full scores written and copied by hand.
I have no idea when or where I purged this material from my life. Probably one of my spiritual mentors encouraged me to discard my past. So I just submitted this simple lead sheet and probably some excuse why I only have this one score, and was accepted into the program.
Copyright 2000 – Affinity Systems, Inc.
This is a church hymn dedicated to the divine in us all. Originally written for a teacher I was studying with at the time, who taught Surat Shabda Yoga, which can be described in English as "Union of the Sound Current and Soul". It is one of five pieces I composed in 2000 for a session with Steve Kaplan on Acoustic Piano, and myself on Trumpet. Recorded at Steve Kaplan's studio in Malibu in Oct. 2000. This is the original version of this piece.
I am actually whispering into the trumpet on this recording. A Coles ribbon microphone is jammed directly into the bell of the horn. There is a certain innocence about this sound that I was looking for, and it was really hard to play in this fashion. Simply breathing and pushing air lightly into a piece of brass.
Steve was killed flying his own plane to a rehearsal in 2003. He was the accompanist to all of the recordings I created between 1980 and 2000. One of the top LA studio keyboardists, on hundreds of albums and film scores. In the mid 90's became the composer and re-wrote the themes for "Wheel of Fortune", and "Jeopardy". He was a spiritual brother to me, we both studied with the same spiritual teachers and that would be the primary topic of our conversations and adventures. I still miss him today, writing this.
Grace of Your Love – Ensembles version for String Quartet
I created 5 string quartet pieces for my final thesis project called the Tiferet Suite. Removed two of them for the actual concert. One of the works, was the Grace of Your Love re-orchestrated and arranged for the quartet. This video from August 5, 2015 is the premiere of that piece.
In January 2016 the Power Quartet, recorded the 3 pieces, in NYC at Steve Addabbo's Shelter Island Studio for the Ensembles album. These recordings have already been mixed by Steve Addabbo and will be a part of the Ensembles album.
Link to the score – Tiferet-Grace-Version-2 – Full Score
Notes about the composition and arrangement.
Grace of Your Love Structure
The original arrangement of this piece uses the structure of, 8 bar verse, 8 bar verse. 8 bar chorus, and an 8 bar coda which is repeated 3 times (Grace of Your Love lead sheet at top). I worked out the structure of the new version with Don DiNicola using a variety of methods. One method I used to show him the basic existing structure of the first arrangement was to build a visual layout in Microsoft Visio software of my first draft. The sections marked with a "X" were removed based on a mutual editing decision.
Draft structure of Grace of Your Love – Visio
Musical sections are color coded. I use Visio in my day to day work, designing computer systems and find it helpful to give high level visual representations of segments. This image shows the eventual structure of the string quartet version of Grace of Your Love.
Grace of Your Love final structure..
The new structure of the string quartet uses intro, verse, verse, extended chorus (13 bars), extended coda (9 bars). A fugue like exposition of the melody (26 bars), then a triplet arpeggio is used to build momentum underlying a return to the 8 bar original phrases of, verse, verse, chorus, coda and a fade.
Grace backwards introduction
I created this extended one minute introduction to the piece, which is actually the ending played backwards. This introduction builds and then fades and the beginning of the forward part of the piece interacts with the backwards components for perhaps an additional 20 seconds. This is the ending of the piece.
Grace of Your Love Ending
The triplet section is used at the beginning and the tempo is first set so the groups of three are natural in the beginning, so I used a 9/8 pattern at 1/3rd the tempo to make this understand-able and play-able and this helps "wash" the sonic spectrum when the actual beginning of the piece starts at letter A.
Grace introduction
As compositionally interesting as this might appear, using the 9/8 metric modulation at the beginning, didn't end up being a great idea. The revision of the score for the recording, I reverted this back to being a 3/4 meter and made adjustments.
Grace – other modifications
The new version of this piece uses a new introductory phrase before the primary melody. This phrase is re-introduced at the end of the piece.
Grace new intro
The new middle section of Grace, has a slight fugue, using the original melody, I shift chords underneath and develop these two counterpoint active lines in the violins.
The fugue-like section drives the momentum forward and eventually a triplet pattern is added to the first violin This sets a triplet feeling that is then carried by the arpeggios in the viola and cello which accompanies the use of the melody until the end.
Grace Triplets.
The melodies are re-introduced, and build to the final chorus. The piece then fades to nothingness. The Grace of Your Love represents the receptive part of Tiferet.
Based on a suggestion by Wendy Law, for the recording, I actually changed the key of the piece, to make it easier to play on the cello. Wasn't planning on writing this much, but the piece does have some history, so at the least thought I would share a bit of it.
When you compose, sometimes you can pull things from the past, and make them relevant for this moment.
This entry was posted in Ensembles by craig. Bookmark the permalink.
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"Infectious" is the word. These two, their sweet souls, and their joyful smiles are simply infectious. Shaun and Blair have known each other for ages. I believe there's a New Year's Eve shenanigan involved wherein their group of friends went to their friends' parties around town starting the NYE countdown. They just started yelling "Ten! Nine! Eight!..." and everybody joined in, hah! Blair is a person who radiates joy and laughs often, and she can't help spreading it to everybody around her. Delightfully infectious. Brian is her perfect companion, adoring her for her energy and offering a balance, remarkably kind and exceedingly thoughtful. I'll just have to leave it at that; otherwise, I'll probably not be able to stop.
To another team of amazing wedding professionals, thank you for all your stunning work. Between Blair's amazing style and your vision and execution, this was FLAWLESS.
Thank you so much Style Me Pretty for featuring this one.


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Behind Wantedly: The Story of Joseline Yu and Modern Shakespeare
Reading the words of experts and visionaries makes me feel as if I'm holding a 'conversation' with them, especially when I set down my own thoughts alongside theirs.
Why Tech Recruiters Should Join More Virtual Career Fairs
2018-10-24 in Recruiters
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2018-10-24 in Summary
Why Active Recruiting is a Must in 2018 (and Beyond)
Be Seen with BeScene
2018-10-03 in Company
Name: Joseline Yu
Why Wantedly: "A fun, inspiring platform to follow and connect with unique businesses."
I first heard of Wantedly while watching an interview with Founder Akiko Naka in 2016, during my first year working in the "real world."
Passion is like a wellspring of energy for achieving larger goals, which I learned during this first year. This realisation shaped my current ambition to mastering the skill of writing in 10,000 hours and devoting another 10,000 hours to a visual art that complements my writing!
Write to hold "conversations" with great minds
My love of writing goes along with my love of reading. I always turn to my precious books for inspiration and favourite online publications for ideas and insights.
Reading the words of experts and visionaries makes me feel as if I'm holding a 'conversation' with them, especially when I set down my own thoughts alongside theirs. This motivates me to seek connections in the most unlikely of places, all which contribute to my love of learning new stories and perspectives.
What has Shakespeare got to do with startups?
Before writing articles for the startup community, I wrote papers on people's perspective on literature during the Renaissance period in England.
Some may see Shakespeare's plays as the furthest thing from innovative technology, but there's a common thread in how both disrupt the patterns and thinking of their consumers.
I stand before King Lear and Fintech updates as an outsider from a different background. By writing about them, I get to peak into different worlds through my work!
Overcoming the fear of the blank page
Making a living from writing requires a fire for the writing process.
At the start of every piece, the pressure to engage and inspire inevitably bubbles up. All writers can do is to work through it and as author Ryan Holiday says, "Follow the process."
Yet, sometimes the words won't come, the sentences fall flat, and the English language doesn't make sense anymore.
When that happens, I take a break by browsing the colourful variety of job postings on Wantedly. Seeing pictures of people happy doing what they love inspires me to get back to work and share my writing with the vibrant community around me.
What are you passionate about? Let the world know by sharing your passions on Wantedly today!
Joseline is a writer based in Singapore. Want to learn more about her passion for writing? Connect with Joseline here today!
Founded in 2010 (originally from Tokyo), Wantedly is a social hiring platform that allows talents and companies to meet based on shared mission and values, rather than salary and benefits. Striving to Create a World Where Work Drives Passion, the platform provides opportunities for talents to discover their dream companies, while allowing companies to showcase their brand story and passion projects to build their dream team.
Joseline Yu
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© 2019 Wantedly, Inc., all rights reserved.


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Marine Corporal Is Outside Cruz's House Demanding Answers for His Anti-Military Nonsense
Jef Rouner April 1, 2021 4:30AM
Diana Sims wants to talk to Ted Cruz. Photo by Nicholas Schulte
Since March 19, Diana Sims has been sitting outside of Senator Ted Cruz's house with signs that read "Ted Talk to Me About Women in the Military" and "Why Do You Support Tucker Carlson Over Military Women?" The reason is both heartbreaking and because it involves Ted Cruz, deeply stupid.
Here's the background, and apologies because it is going to take a bit to explain. Earlier in March, Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson ran a piece on his show in which he ridiculed the United States military for designing flight suits for pregnant service members. He also threw in some bigoted asides because he is, as John Oliver recently put it, "the most prominent vessel in America for white supremacist talking points."
"While China's military becomes more masculine as it's assembled the world's largest navy, our military, as Joe Biden says, needs to become more feminine — whatever feminine means anymore since men and women no longer exist," Carlson said in his piece. "The bottom line is it's out of control and the Pentagon is going along with it. Again, this is a mockery of the U.S. military and its core mission, which is winning wars."
The segment was roundly denounced by the military establishment, including Rear Admiral John Kirby, Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs speaking for the Pentagon. The U.S. armed forces have made great strides in the years since we investigated poor treatment of pregnant veterans. Seeing proper safety accommodations made for pregnant airmen is further proof that the military is moving forward with the diversity of their members in mind.
However, Cruz apparently thought that the military's response to Carlson's bigoted nonsense was mean. He went to the head of the U.S. Marine Corp to "put a stop to" them trying to "intimidate" Carlson.
"I am deeply troubled that the commitments you made, and the military's broader obligation to avoid political endorsements and controversy, are being systematically undermined for the sake of leftwing ideology and political expediency," he said in a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. "The last week has witnessed the Pentagon mobilize systemic, public attacks against television host Tucker Carlson."
Already under fire for fleeing the state for Cancun during the catastrophic winter storm as well as literally promoting the Big Lie of a stolen election even as insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol, this is the latest in Cruz's embarrassing moments for 2021. Enter 35-year-old retired Marine Corporal Diana Sims, who took offense at Cruz's priorities.
"It was 17 degrees in my house, and his priority is Tucker Carlson?" she says. "Tucker Carlson doesn't live here. I'm your constituent. I don't feel like being a pawn. I don't want you to use me in a culture war It's going to hurt us. New people coming into the service hear this and we'll have to fight these battles all over again. This is stuff we've been asking about for 20 years."
Sims, who served in the military photography division alongside both pregnant and trans marines, usually begins her vigil outside Cruz's home in the afternoon. She's careful to stow her signs whenever she sees Cruz's children, but has received some dirty looks from Heidi Cruz. Constables told her she could not bring beer to her watch, and now she packs only soda and snacks as she sits on the public sidewalk. She says Cruz has not acknowledged her presence, but she has no plans to leave.
"I'm prepared for the hot weather," she says.
Response to her presence in the upscale River Oaks neighborhood has been mixed, but Sims feels she is reaching people. Republicans have been responsive to her explanation of Cruz's anti-military actions. Her favorite interaction was with an older conservative couple whose granddaughter is a midshipman at the Naval Academy. The young woman wanted a picture of Sims to present to her women's group.
"They couldn't believe a Republican would treat their granddaughter like this," she says.
Sims is upbeat and chipper about her vigil, but the trollish nature of the activity hides some real pain. Cruz's denouncement of proper gear for women and pregnant service members is part of a long tradition of marginalization in the military. That fact hit home for Sims after a close friend of hers was killed in a helicopter crash in Nepal as it was on its way to help victims of the 2015 earthquake. When Sim received her memorial killed-in-action bracelet, it didn't fit because it was not sized for women.
"She was my size," says Sims. "We traded gear because in photography sometimes you have to go quick, and nothing is clean. I thought, 'if this doesn't fit me, it wouldn't fit her either.' Women in the military are sometimes so invisible. She died helping people, and they don't have her in mind when they make things like this."
As her protest outside Cruz's home goes on, Sims has mentioned on social media that she may seek to run against Cruz when he is up for re-election in 2024. In the meantime, she just wants to speak with him about his bizarre and hurtful decision to side with a television pundit over the military trying to accommodate its members safely and with dignity.
"I want to ask Ted Cruz if we should be mocked," she says. "What if your daughters wanted to go into the Air Force Academy? How would you feel if they thought she didn't have the same to contribute?"
Sims says interested parties can email her at [email protected]
Jef Rouner is a contributing writer who covers politics, pop culture, social justice, video games, and online behavior. He is often a professional annoyance to the ignorant and hurtful.
Contact: Jef Rouner