The Evolving Jew

I've tried not to post on presidential politics the last few days on Facebook, other than wink-wink posts that surreptitiously refer to 19th century elections. But I got involved in a thread where someone judged Hillary's Israel views by her vice presidential pick, declaring that Kaine is "anti-Israel". So I'm jumping back in the fray. It's really sad that the right-wing pro-Israel crowd has become so idological that they can't recognize friends of Israel. Let's get real. There are plenty of politicians who are truly anti-Israel, like Jill Stein, the candidate for the green party, former congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, and others. These are people who challenge Israel's right to exist and challenge her right to defend herself. What are Kaine's crimes against the Jewish state? Boycotting Bibi's partisan concocted speech to Congress, supporting the Iran deal, and showing some friendship to J-Street. He probably shouldn't have skippe

Given Hillary Clinton's unpopularity, I think we have to start seriously considering that a Trump presidency is a possibility, and how we will live with a minimum of 4 years of it. I'm not going to flee to Canada (thought aliyah's not out of the question). This country won't fall apart. Congress will still be deadlocked. Despite the rhetoric, I don't think he'll be able to deport all illegals, nor will he be able to build that wall. He won't be able to keep all Muslims from entering the US. These are things that the president simply doesn't have the power to do himself. And the Federal government doesn't control our daily lives to the degree people  think. But he could still do an awful lot of damage. He might succeed in getting a repeal of Obamacare through congress. And his SCOTUS picks would be with us for decades. Not to mention trade wars, growing isolationism, and despite the delusions of much of the right, Trump wouldn't be very good f

Donald Trump is bad news for this country. He's a buffoon and a clown, and is utterly unqualified to lead us. He's also unquestionably a misogynist. But if you look back at his history and connections, it doesn't seem like Trump is a major racist, but rather a mild bigot (if there's such a thing). What scares me far more than Trump himself is the ugliness that his campaign has unleashed. The vile racism, antisemitism, and white supremacy that is normally hidden beneath America has risen up and decided to make itself known. We all knew this stuff existed, but I don't think we realized how prevalent it still was. And they've attached themselves to the rising star of an idiot, and are no longer afraid to say what they really think. We thought America was so enlightened, here in 2016. Trump's campaign has shown us that there's a really scary side to this country, and we ignore it at our peril, especially now as that scary side feels empowered.

I haven't posted on this blog in almost 4 months. I don't discuss my personal life on here much, but wanted to let those few of you who still read blogs but aren't connected to me in real life or on Facebook that I'm still around and am OK. The last time I posted was before chaos took over, involving a move where everything went wrong, a flood in our new place, a hospital stay for a family member (the Kosher L'Pesach meals at the hospital were just awful), and finally, the early arrival of my twin children. Thank God, everything is getting back to normal, and I am settling in to new fatherhood. In between diaper changes, I still hope to blog occasionally, so check back here once in a while!