Blog
It pains me to write that an avowed Zionist and practicing Jew can be shamed by a nation he loves. October 7, 2023 focused much of the world’s attention on Hamas’ horrific attack on Israel. The brutality of that day, which claimed 1,200 lives, had nothing to do with finding a political settlement establishing two…
Last Sunday, we saw the Broadway road-show musical “Suffs” about the suffragist movement. The Tony Award®-winner made a powerful and entertaining case for the 19th Amendment, ratified on June 4, 1919. Yet some (many?) Christian nationalists oppose women’s right to vote. On October 9, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat interviewed Doug Wilson, pastor of…
Reading a novel is easy. Harder: writing my tenth novel, “Ride the Tyger: The Lost, Unauthorized Oral Biography of Madison Hadder.” I started with a question: What leads someone to embrace the political far right and ignore reality? Witness Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, (R., Georgia) with “Jewish space lasers” and Trump former counselor Kellyanne Conway’s…
Sunday at 2:00 am, we’ll turn our clocks back one hour. Sadly, the month-long federal government shutdown is turning the national clock back to eras when millions of Americans went to bed hungry and sick. Venture capitalists, bank executives, senior tech bro—they’re fine. But tens of millions of Americans live from paycheck to paycheck. Others…
Last Monday at Israel’s Knesset (parliament) in Jerusalem, President Trump hailed “the historic dawn of a new Middle East.” From his lips to God’s ears. The return of the last 20 living hostages from Hamas captivity offered a joyous moment. The ceasefire is more than welcome. Actual peace? A conundrum. Trump’s 20-point plan offers a…
Recently, Carolyn and I spent two weeks in Iceland. We went with Overseas Adventure Travel, which takes small groups almost everywhere. Our main guide Begga was fabulous! We met two main objectives and enjoyed many more experiences. Objective one: See puffins. We went to the Westman Islands, volcanic outcroppings 40 minutes by ferry off Iceland’s…
Did last Tuesday’s Quantico, Virginia, ingathering of generals and admirals tip the scales towards Donald Trump conducting a war against Americans? Since January, Trump has grabbed more and more executive power while Congress—make that Congressional Republicans—has stood abjectly by. At Quantico, Trump addressed the nation’s top military commanders and their aides. His remarks followed those…
Last Saturday, a friend offered to send me muffins if I went to prison. His generosity responded to ABC taking the late-night comic Jimmy Kimmel off the air. Kimmel remarked about the man who killed Christian-conservative advocate Charlie Kirk. He said the shooter was a MAGA follower. No evidence has been presented tying the shooter…
Carolyn and I celebrate our 56th anniversary on September 4. The size and expense of our wedding had nothing to do with our marriage’s longevity. Note that in late June, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez basically rented Venice, Italy, for a three-day wedding extravaganza. Bezos, 61, had been married to MacKenzie Scott for…