What a great night to be an American! Once again we have demonstrated the vitality of our democracy. Our history is a struggle between elites and small-d democrats for access to power, and tonight Iowa has demonstrated the progressive leadership…
It seems that American Jews have become the go-to-guys for politicians taking on–or playing up–the threat of radical Islam. Ten days ago the Times Magazine published a fine piece of reporting from Kenya about Joseph Lekuton, an M.P. from a…
In Iowa today, the big question is whether a populist surge will leave Hillary Clinton third, behind Edwards and Obama, and thereby deal a blow to her candidacy. Can’t wait to find out. What fascinates me about these trends is…
Wow am I late. The New York Times announced last Saturday that Bill Kristol is becoming an Op-Ed columnist. Its story is remarkable for a few reasons. First, the article insists on calling Kristol “a conservative” and describing his father,…
Tom Lantos, 79, the Hungarian-born Californian who is the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress, has announced his retirement due to illness, his struggle with cancer. Good luck to him. Though I wonder if this is not an epochal…
Author Jennifer Anne Moses was Shmuel Rosner’s guest at Ha’aretz earlier this week. She is a religious Jew living in Louisiana and points out, very sensibly, that when someone says “Jesus loves you” at the grocery store, you don’t have…
I went to a few parties around New Year’s and was struck afresh by the utter commingling of Jews and gentiles in the privileged community in which I live, the Hudson Valley. Last night I went to an intimate New…