It's extremely difficult to keep your hands clean if you're politically involved, damned near impossible if you hold office. The reason is the existence of conflicting responsibilities.

If you hold office, assuming you are ethical, there are two things you want/need to do:

1. Vote your conscience

2.… Read full post »

I recently ended up for the first time at the blog of someone called Chauncey DeVega and read the following post: http://www.open.salon.com/blog/chauncey_devega/2012/05/01/further_proof_that_racism_is_not_an_opinion#comment_2922172

Having read the post and the comments, I realized that I had a lot to… Read full post »

I heard recently from a friend in a PM that he/she wasn’t completely sure where he/she stood on the gay marriage issue. I decided to do my bit and lay out the issues as I see them in a reply PM. That PM was the basis for this post, though the… Read full post »

My kid inspires a street protest 

My son and I were in Manhattan for a few days in February of 2004 because he was invited by his camp counselor from the previous summer to help her with a presentation about camp at her high school. It's the night before we're… Read full post »

My parental experience has taught me a lot about doctors and nurses. One thing I've learned is that, for a lot of those I've met, at least those who don't have regular patients, Treatment is Job One, and Job Two doesn't matter.

I don't actually object to this, provided that t… Read full post »

I might write about my late son once in a while. The stories may range all over the map. Some will be more about the whole experience than about him per se. This one, however, is absolutely about him.

I was driving, with my son in the back of the minivan.… Read full post »

There is no word in English equivalent to "widower" but pertaining to the death of a child instead of a spouse. I realized this today when my wife asked me over lunch if I viewed myself as the father of one or of two children. I replied that, firstly, that was an… Read full post »

This is edited from a comment made on Jonathan Wolfman's post about the Toulouse murders last night. Given the heat of the moment, it's a little, well, pointed. Reprinted here at his suggestion.

[Jonathan was kind enough to point out that not everyone reading this will know who/what Likud is. Likud… Read full post »

To what extent does Israel’s conduct create antisemitism?

I think Israel exacerbates and magnifies anti-Semitism but I don’t think Israel actually creates much of it. Why do I think this?

Let’s get one thing out of the way first: I don’t like the current Israeli government at a/… Read full post »

I’ve been asked this more than once on OS, as has Jonathan Wolfman. (His post of yesterday put the topic back on the table and he asked me if I was interested in posting on this at the moment, hence the timing. This one has been in progress for a while.) We’ve… Read full post »

It's a quarter after one in the morning on a Saturday in early August, the tail end of a Friday night gig that started at about nine. The venue is a small, smoky neighborhood bar on the outskirts of downtown (the ban hasn't gone into effect yet), a place that hosts live music… Read full post »

On the afternoon of Sunday, January 8, I sent a PM to a few people entitled
“My Absence, Amended.”     It read:

The following has nothin… Read full post »

Still busy, but it's Sunday. I'll let you know when I'm back for real.

"I don't think you go to the middle; you bring the middle to you."

   Read full post »

An idiot doesn't magically become a genius when he or she criticizes you.

I will be absent from OS for what I think will be a couple of days. No emergency, just work I have to get to. I will respond to comments when I return and… Read full post »

A deal that isn't good for all its participants is a lousy deal.

This is not comprehensive, nor is it meant to be. I can do another or add things later if asked.

I am not trying to convert you.

We don’t do that. One of the reasons we have such a tiny population is that we don’t seek converts. Why not?

We don’t believe… Read full post »

Being White in America says less about who you are than about who you aren't.

The best way to tell that a religious group is about to cause trouble is when the balance between the conflicting priorities of vigilance and compassion tilts in favor of vigilance.

I have tried to explain this ("this" being when antizionism qualifies as antisemitism) in plain English but a remarkable number of people don't seem to get it. Instead, I read comments like this gem from Ben Sen, which comes from a comment on my blog dated April 15 and is about Is… Read full post »

No matter what anyone tells you, most slopes aren't slippery and most boxes never belonged to Pandora.

Improving one's country is an intrinsically patriotic act while pretending that one's country does not need improvement, because such pretense can actively prevent improvement, more closely resembles treason than patriotism.

Equal rights for any given population is considered to be a reasonable expectation by almost everyone - but only after the fact.