POLITICS & THE ECONOMY
MY FATHER, THE SPY
Last week, Army Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman testified before the House Intelligence Committee regarding the impeachment inquiry. Some guardians of the land of the free and the home of the brave suggested that LTC Vindman was not loyal to this country. My father faced the same accusation. Vindman, a Jew, immigrated from Ukraine at three,…
Read MoreSHAME ON AMERICA!
The Syrian Kurds fought alongside Americans and suffered 11,000 dead. American troops hailed their bravery. So what did Generalissimo Donald Trump do? After a phone call with Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump ordered the withdrawal of 50–100 Special Forces advisors from Kurdish-held territory in northern Syria and 1,000 troops elsewhere in Syria. Turkey attacked…
Read MoreUNCERTAINTY
Benjamin Franklin wrote, “…nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.” Mark Twain repeated that. But the real author was Englishman Christopher Bullock in 1716. Recent decades have supported Bullock and Franklin (and Twain) with the dictum that the only certainty is change. Look around. The President of the United States fills…
Read MoreDUMB AND DISLOYAL
You’ve doubtless heard what the Sage of Mar-a-Lago declared on Tuesday: “Any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat—I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.” My goose is cooked. I’m a Jew who’s a registered Democrat and voted for Hilary Clinton in 2016. I wasn’t wild about Hilary but…
Read MoreYOUR HUDDLED MASSES
In 1883, Emma Lazarus wrote the poem “The New Colossus” to help raise funds for a base for the Statue of Liberty. We all know, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” What to make of those words today? I love the Statue of Liberty. In February 1906, Chaim…
Read MoreGUILTY ME
Not to demean or dismiss America’s recent mass shootings in California, Texas and Ohio, but I want to point the finger at the next culprits: me and my family. You can take President Trump’s word. Last Monday, he cited several factors contributing to the nation’s wave of mass shootings: the Internet and social media, “gruesome…
Read MoreOUR CHILDREN, OUR CHOICES
Americans love choices. But choosing can be frustrating. Which flavor? Style? Color? Buy a house? Rent? New car? Used? Leased? But not everything in life involves choice. If a large segment of Americans comes to see that, our nation will come closer to upholding the family values they promote. Last Sunday, Carolyn and I went…
Read MoreDETROIT AND PROGRESSIVES
How do you lose a presidential election? By harnessing Newton’s Third Law: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. A recent hubbub in Detroit offers Democrats an important lesson. Several weeks ago, the promoters of Detroit’s AfroFuture Fest announced they would charge people of color an early-bird price of $10, whites $20.…
Read MoreOVERHAUL THE FLAG
After 243 years of American independence, I’ve discovered that it’s time to do away with deceptive symbols representing our nation’s history. The starting point? Overhaul the flag. I have that on good authority. Ten days ago, Nike withdraw a special July 4th shoe featuring the 13-star Betsy Ross flag after Colin Kaepernick, former 49ers quarterback…
Read MoreIRAN AND INCOMPETENCE
Usually, Donald Trump creates distractions from critical issues facing the United States. This week, the Democratic presidential debates performed that function, if not with the same intent. But let’s keep our eye on the ball—a specific one (of many) ignored at our own peril. In September 2012, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the United…
Read MoreTHE VIEW FROM NORWAY
Eighteen months ago, Donald Trump called for more immigrants from Norway (aka white people). Norwegians seem content to stay home. Derek B. Miller, a Massachusetts native and author who lives in Norway’s capital, Oslo, offers some perspective. Miller wrote the best-selling novel Norwegian by Night. He provides a sharp take on the country of his birth…
Read MoreROBERT MUELLER AND BIG TRUTH
What do the Mueller Report and David Perlstein’s latest book, Big Truth: New and Collected Stories, have in common? A great deal. Mueller, looking into a possible Moscow-Donald Trump connection, searched for “big truth”—something that might shed light on what happened. Although he didn’t find a smoking gun, he discovered many “small truths” to which…
Read MoreGAME OF THRONES 2020
It’s done—and it’s just beginning. HBO’s “Game of Thrones” concluded last Sunday night after a decade enthralling a worldwide audience. Based on J.R.R. Martin’s novel series A Song of Ice and Fire, “Thrones” presented a riveting struggle for power in a fantasy world. The real world’s no different. Beyond all the conflicts we’ve learned about,…
Read More415 MEETS 225
Carolyn, our kids and I spent last weekend in Baton Rouge. Our oldest son, Seth, received his M.S. in Digital Media Art & Engineering from Louisiana State University. A conversation with Seth got me thinking about America’s political divide. I’ve enjoyed many visits to Louisiana—New Orleans when Yosi lived and performed there (Aaron danced there)…
Read MorePOWAY AND MINDSET
Disturbing acts of violence have occurred in the United States over the past several years. Some may not have been preventable. Others might not have happened had the nation a different mindset. Two weeks ago, I wrote about the far-right Anne Coulter’s 2007 remark that Jews were imperfect and should be Christians. I commented that…
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