If the world needed yet another sign that the United States and Israel were engaged in the same struggle against international terrorism, it was given a cruel one Wednesday, Oct. 15, when Palestinian terrorists killed three American security agents and wounded a junior official from the U.S. Embassy in a roadside attack in Gaza.
After The New Republic\’s Gregg Easterbrook wrote in his online column that Jewish executives in Hollywood "worship money above all else," he apologized.
\”My work was driven by a sense of imminent loss,\” writes Frédéric Brenner in the introduction to his new book, \”Diaspora: Homelands in Exile.\” \”Two thousand years of history were about to vanish. I felt a desire and a responsibility to document these permutations of survival in exile before they disappeared…. As I began my journey, I realized how much loss had already taken place.\”
Can California\’s new Republican governor make inroads among traditionally Democratic Jews?
\”The harm done by Jayson Blair in The New York Times newsroom may, in the end, be offset by a bit of good it does elsewhere. The incident is serving as a wake-up call for journalism, prompting many papers … to redouble efforts at accuracy and accountability,\” wrote Christine Chinlund, the Boston Globe ombudsman, in a soul-searching column on media accountability.
Californians have reached new levels of accommodation for cultural and other differences, but some of our officials still speak unashamedly in stark racial and ethnic terms.
What was that all about?\n\nThose on the left will say the recall election we just survived was a sneaky Republican power grab. Those on the right will say it was a citizen revolt against a sleazy and ineffectual governor.\n\nThose in the middle will say, \”Are we done yet?\”\n\nIt\’s not clear, this early on, who wins and who loses in this process. If Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger succeeds in balancing the state budget while improving California\’s business climate, educational system and environment — just as he promised — then we all win.
First a disclaimer: I have never met Arnold Schwarzenegger, have never spoken to him, was never contacted by his political people, no one ever asked me to support him, or offered me money to do so. I supported him because I respect him and because I am convinced that he will be good for California. In fact, if I may brag just a little, I started predicting that he would be the next governor of California many months ago, when only a few hard-line nuts seriously considered that a recall could be successful. I didn\’t think/hope that Gray Davis would be recalled. I just was sure that Arnold would run and win the next race.
