POLITICS & THE ECONOMY
DARKNESS AND LIGHT
Donald Trump and Joe Biden are competing to see who can turn the lights back on in America. Biden sees the nation engulfed in darkness. Trump sees Biden as darkness incarnate and said last night, he is “brimming with confidence of the bright future.” I think I see why. Covid-19 has killed 180,000 Americans. Trump…
Read MoreMY WIFE IS NASTY
When you’re married to a woman for nearly 51 years (September 4), you learn a bit about her. So I can say without hesitation, my wife Carolyn is nasty. My wife is nasty because she’s independent. She thinks for herself. She insists on standing on her own two feet, not under my thumb. My wife…
Read MoreNEITHER SNOW NOR RAIN NOR HEAT
The unofficial motto of the U.S. Postal Service long has been, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” What does? An American president hellbent on making a mockery of the Constitution and democracy. Polls indicate that Donald Trump badly trails Joe…
Read MoreDRESS REHEARSAL IN PORTLAND
Something ominous has been happening in Portland, Oregon. But Donald Trump’s sending camouflage-uniformed, armed and unidentified federal personnel to attack protestors represents only half the story. Portland mayor Ted Wheeler and Oregon governor Kate Brown responded with anger. Oregon attorney general Ellen Rosenblum sought a restraining order against the Department of Homeland Security. It was…
Read MoreTHE DRAGON—A FABLE
Just the day before, the Child was care-free and innocent, at that age at which Father and Mother were wise and heroic. But that was then. “There’s a Dragon under my bed,” said the Child at tuck-in time. Father and Mother smiled. Children often expressed fears of imaginary things. Father and Mother often read fairy…
Read MoreDEATH, POLITICS AND GUILT
I have bad news, good news and more bad news. Also an apology. The initial bad news: The COVID-19 death toll of Americans stands at 124,000. The good news: Last Sunday, American daily deaths dropped to 275. More bad news: Daily deaths rose to 833 on Tuesday and 766 Wednesday. Yesterday, Johns Hopkins University charted…
Read MoreTHE PERLSTEIN SENATE
With Democrats selecting a presidential candidate—it might not happen until the convention—and November’s election looming, I’m puzzled by “one citizen, one vote.” This principle poses two key questions. One: Why should a 75-year-old military veteran, husband and father, homeowner, holder of a master’s degree, retired businessman and long-time taxpayer have the same single vote as…
Read MoreBANANAS
Ten days ago, White House national security advisor Robert O’Brien commented on the removal of Army Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman and his brother Yevgeny from their National Security Council posts. Retribution? No, said O’Brien. But,“We’re not a country where a bunch of lieutenant colonels can get together and decide what the policy is of the…
Read MoreI HEAR AMERICA
During election seasons like this one, words of patriotism pour out of people’s mouths. Candidates spew platitudes. Pundits and the public respond with their own. But what strikes me aren’t the words proclaimed during presidential campaigns but the music Americans play. Last Sunday, Carolyn and I flew down to Los Angeles to hear our son…
Read MoreTHE STUMBLING BLOCK
The Senate’s acquittal of Donald Trump was expected. Some Republicans sought cover with Lamar Alexander’s (Tennessee) rationale: What the president did was wrong but didn’t rise to the level of removal from office. Unfortunately, Senate Republicans ignored Leviticus 19:14. Torah commands Israelites not to place a stumbling block before the blind. Literally, one should never…
Read MoreTHE OTHER F-WORD
On December 17, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R.-Ky.) stated re the upcoming trial of impeached president Donald Trump, “I’m not an impartial juror.” On January 16, Chief Justice John Roberts swore in the Senate. McConnell pledged to “do impartial justice.” Anyone for cognitive dissonance? Then McConnell doubled down. Before preliminaries this past Tuesday, he…
Read MoreWHAT IS A JEW?
On December 11, President Trump held a Chanukah party at the White House where he signed an executive order combatting anti-Semitism. The New York Times reported that the order defines America’s Jews as sharing a national origin. It doesn’t. So what is a Jew? The order relates to Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act…
Read MoreBLACK IS WHITE
In 1949, George Orwell published his iconic novel of dystopia, 1984. It presented the world divided into three with Orwell’s England part of Oceania, ruled by the tyrant—or perhaps an avatar—Big Brother. The key to Big Brother’s power was twisting language: war is peace, freedom slavery, ignorance strength. The two articles of impeachment brought against…
Read MoreGOD SETS THINGS STRAIGHT
Days before Thanksgiving, energy secretary Rick Perry reassured Donald Trump that God mandated his election to the Oval Office. Perry told the president “. . . if you’re a believing Christian you understand God’s plan for the people who rule and judge over us on this planet in our government.” As a Jew, I wondered.…
Read MoreCIRCLED WAGONS
Lindsey Graham (R.-So. Carolina), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made a startling statement last Tuesday before flip-flopping on Wednesday. It revealed much about the impeachment inquiry and how a large segment of the country is circling the wagons. Graham said he wouldn’t read the transcripts of closed-door hearings—open to Republican committee members—released by House…
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