Toward a Meaningful Yom Kippur

“I want more prominent Jews – people with a profile higher than mine – to at least come out and say publicly that Israel has a right to exist. I feel like the silence tacitly endorses the opinion that somehow Israel is the bully and the Palestinians are the underdog.” – Josh Malina, actor on … Continue reading “Toward a Meaningful Yom Kippur”

‘Wesley & Me’: A Real-Life Docudrama

Here’s the real-life plot: A famous documentary filmmaker puts out a letter to a retired four-star general urging him to run for president. The essay quickly zooms through cyberspace and causes a big stir. For Michael Moore, the reaction is gratifying. Three days later, he thanks readers "for the astounding response to the Wesley Clark … Continue reading “‘Wesley & Me’: A Real-Life Docudrama”

So Damned UN-pretty

It’s September 23, and I type this during CNBC’s pregame show for Bush’s speech to the UN requesting international cooperation in Iraq. Joe Kernan, resident analyst, recommends that we buy, not hold, such concerns as Lockheed Martin and GlaxoSmithKline; encouraging, if our aim is to profit from death and illness. For his part, the ubiquitous … Continue reading “So Damned UN-pretty”

WAR PARTY WHINES OVER IRAQ COVERAGE

That high-pitched whine you’re hearing is the sound of politicians and their media amen corner complaining about the “negative” coverage coming out of Iraq. To hear them tell it, everything is just hunky-dory over there – it’s the “biased” reporters, and not the concept of conquering and subjugating a country in the holy name of … Continue reading “WAR PARTY WHINES OVER IRAQ COVERAGE”

Return to the Crime Scene

Nearly three years after he left office, Bill Clinton was Emperor again – at least in the minds of worshipful Balkans peons, who cheered him on as he strutted down his namesake boulevard in Pristina and pontificated about good and evil in Srebrenica. Clinton deserves some credit because he at least visited only the scenes … Continue reading “Return to the Crime Scene”

There Is Nothing Conservative About the US Policy in Iraq

Conservatives have never believed in massive foreign aid. Our occupation of Iraq has become the largest foreign aid program in the history of the world. We are building or rebuilding thousands of Iraqi schools, giving free health care to Iraqi citizens, and even making back payments to the Iraqi military and Iraqi retirees. Last week … Continue reading “There Is Nothing Conservative About the US Policy in Iraq”

INSTEAD OF A COLUMN

I wrote this review of Jim Bovard’s important new book, Terrorism and Tyranny: Trampling Freedom, Justice and Peace to Rid the World of Evil, for The American Conservative, and they have (quite unexpectedly!) put it online – and thus given me a day off. Actually, a day “off,” for me, consists of writing another review … Continue reading “INSTEAD OF A COLUMN”

Did Bush Destroy the Administration Case for War?

The most plausible reason I could come up with for the curious dance of denial by top administration officials regarding a direct connection between Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 terrorist attacks is that it was a short-term political effort to defuse Vice President Cheney’s rather extravagant and over-the-top assertions Sunday before last on “Meet the … Continue reading “Did Bush Destroy the Administration Case for War?”