LA’s Firestorms: Political Lessons for Our Survival
In early March, three months after wildfires tore through multiple Los Angeles-area communities, PBS aired a grim retrospective: Weathered: Inside…
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Damning Bibi Dangerously: When does criticism of his Gaza policies become antisemitism?
Author’s Note: This article was completed just before the outbreak of the Israel–Iran-US conflagration. How the crisis unfolds will inevitably…
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William F. Buckley admitted breaking CIA’s rules—three years too late
Playing favorites with national security makes a mockery of it. Author’s note: Sam Tanenhaus has just published a long-awaited biography…
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Kent State In Memoriam
Each year I update this post to remind myself to remember — all the more timely given the current campus…
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Glitter at the End of the Tunnel: Saigon’s 16 Tons of Gold, Lost, then Found
The BBC has just laid to rest one of the great urban legends left over from the Vietnam war, one…
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Ghosts Beckon From Old Saigon
With the 50th Anniversary of the fall of Saigon now upon us, friends and fair-weather facsimiles with some knowledge of my…
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A Survivor’s Critique – PBS’ “Weathered: Inside the LA Firestorm”
While agonizing over Trumpian excesses and related media blind spots, some of us Angelenos are still reeling from the LA…
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Antisemitism: Mixed Messaging from Israel and Its Impact on Trump’s Campus Crackdowns
As an instinctive friend of Israel’s who abhors antisemitism — and as an alumnus of Columbia University which faces massive…
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FUBAR Incarnate
Refs: “Hegseth Disclosed Secret War Plans in a Group Chat,” The New York Times, March 24, 2025 https://www.nytimes.com/…/hegseth-classified-war-plans… “Justice Dept….
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Lie, Lies and More Lies: Trump Turns Un-Truth into Policy
So many “facts” behind the administration’s hammer blows to our democratic norms and judicial system are just plain fiction. When…