Review: “L’ebreo” (The Jew) a play by The Cosmos Club
In L'ebreo, Buonarotti riffs on the Jewish stereotypes of his time, treating them as comic fodder. The biggest bigots get the biggest laughs
Allan Brownfeld
America’s zero tolerance for youthful indiscretion strangely emerges
"Zero tolerance" of youthful indiscretion, means people who never leave their rooms will qualify. Themistocles says that, "Wild colts make the best horses."
As Executive Power grows, our system of checks and balances erodes
The founding fathers wrote in a series of checks and balances so that no branch of the government had more power than another. Now presidents routinely sign Executive Orders. Is that against the original intent of the founders?
Note to GOP: Falsehoods, conspiracy theories don’t equal ‘ a great victory ‘
Unfortunately for both the President and the GOP, the results of Election 2018 scarcely resemble what Trump is now calling "a great victory."
Identity Politics: A threat to the unity a diverse society requires
WASHINGTON: Those of us old enough to remember segregation, understand the nature of identity politics. In those days, judgment of men and women begins with racial identity. Under Jim Crow, many have no right to vote or the freedom to stay in hotels. Signs say “white only” restrooms or drinking fountains. The goal of people ...
Pik Botha, 1932-2018: A man who helped South Africa escape apartheid
WASHINGTON. Roelof Pik Botha, the last foreign minister under apartheid rule in South Africa will be layed to rest today. Botha, who served in the cabinet of Nelson Mandela, died in Pretoria on October 12 at the age of 86. Because of his penchant for dressing in a suit and tie as a young man, ...
Do millennials like Ocasio-Cortez even know what Socialism means
WASHINGTON: Suddenly, we are hearing a great deal about “socialism.” A Gallup Poll in August found that 57 percent of Democrats said they view socialism positively. Other polls show the popularity of socialism among millennials and politicians such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez achieved celebrity promoting socialism, after she defeated the fourth-ranked Democratic House leader, Joseph Crowley, ...
The death of the rule of law in favor of empowering political passion
WASHINGTON. One of the ironies of our society at the present time is that, as political passions rise, the knowledge of American history is in decline. Particularly, how our system of constitutional government works. Or is supposed to. The evidence of this decline is all around us. Recently, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation conducted ...
What would the Founding Fathers say about growing executive power
WASHINGTON: Executive power has been steadily growing, regardless of which party is in power. The Constitution clearly gives Congress the power to declare war. Still, we have gone to war in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan upon the authority of the president alone. Today, the president, on his own authority, imposes tariffs upon China, Canada ...
Republicans ebbing support of Free Trade and balanced budgets
WASHINGTON: In the past, Americans seemed to understand a difference in economic policy between the two parties. Democrats, we thought, supported deficit spending and, with the embrace of labor unions, tariffs upon foreign products, to protect American manufacturers from competition. Republicans and conservatives, on the other hand, call for balanced budgets and free trade. Now, ...
Ending aid to Palestine and refugees will not advance middle east peace
Right of Refugees, Palestine, Israel, UNWRA, Allan Brownfeld, ending aid to Palestine
The death of John McCain: What America loses with his passing
WASHINGTON: America has lost a great deal with the Death of John McCain. He was a military hero. When he was shot down and crash landed his plane in a small lake in the heart of Hanoi in 1967, the crash broke bones in his arms and shoulders. After he was captured, he underwent years ...
Saying goodbye to Uri Avnery: Palestinian reconciliationist, columnist and activist
Uri Avnery was preparing to attend a demonstration in opposition to Israel's current retreat from democracy. Palestine has lost a valuable defender.
Pennsylvania Grand Jury and the Catholic Church epidemic of child abuse: What would Jesus say?
WASHINGTON: A report by the Pennsylvania Grand Jury reports on the Catholic Church epidemic of child abuse. Furthermore, the report implicates more than 300 Catholic priests who sexually abused children over the last seven decades. Knowing of the epidemic of abuse, those priests were then protected by a Catholic Church hierarchy who covered it up. The ...
The strange bedfellows of politics: America’s Right and Vladimir Putin
WASHINGTON: It has often been said that politics makes strange bedfellows. Such is the case of America’s Right and Vladimir Putin. Examining the close ties which are emerging between Vladimir Putin and certain elements of America’s right-wing places President Trump’s Helsinki meeting with Putin and the controversy about Russia’s role in the 2016 election into ...
President Trump and the history of misunderstanding Russia
America's politicians and intellectuals have a history of misunderstanding Russia. We have misunderstood Moscow in the past, and done so at our peril. It is important that we do not do so again.
Conservatism: Exactly what are Conservative thinkers trying to conserve?
It is sad to see the conservatism which emerged after World War II now essentially gone. Hopefully, it will rise again, for our society needs both genuine conservatives and liberals to thrive. Now, it is missing both.
Survey of the American Jewish Committee: American Jews do not approve of Israel policies
WASHINGTON: An opinion poll published in June shows deep divisions between Israelis and American Jews. The survey of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) found that 77 percent of Israelis approved of President Donald Trump’s handling of U.S.-Israel relations, while only 34 percent of American Jews did. Eighty-five percent of Israelis supported the decision to move ...
Mr. Rogers – Won’t you be my neighbor? Remembering a voice of kindness as incivility grows
Mr. Rogers was a trailblazing pioneer who, rather than just sit and whine about the world made it his mission to go out and change it. We could use more voices like his asking, Won't you be my neighbor.
Movie Review: Charm City – Responding to violence in Baltimore, MD
Baltimore, known as Charm City, is not seeing a reduction in their homicide or violent crime rates, despite national statistics showing other areas are decreasing. Why? Charm City takes viewers through the processes Baltimore resident, community organizers, government and police are taking to change that.