(Yesterday: The End of Memoir, part I) Though he did it not well, Jose Antonio Vargas, in “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant,” had a compelling reason to write. He is not merely affected by illegal immigration: he is, individually, a story of illegal immigration. He has lived the subterfuge, the fiction, and the uncertain […]
Mind Games II: Ideocentrism*
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, working under the direction of al Qaeda in Yemen tries to blow up an American passenger jet. Is this a crime – a law enforcement issue – or an act of war? It’s a matter of perspective. Especially since there is no chemical composition to human acts, and no formulary by which […]
Mind Games: the Interregnum
Soon after posting Mind Games 1 and promising anon a climactic II (yes, treasured readers, I felt your pent up need), I came to think that the period commonly referred to as “the holidays” might actually be suggestive of something. Rather than continue in my increasing detachment from those recurring, totemic calendar events around which […]
Are You Experienced?
“Ah, have you ever been experienced?” Despite the political space between us, I am a great admirer of Yaacov Lozowick. I link to him with praise and pleasure, and I offered a particular shout out here. He has written kindly of me. But yesterday he erred. He repeated the conservative mini-meme, in a post titled […]
Yaacov Lozowick and The End of Israel
I have encountered no clearer-eyed writer about Israel, its situation, and its place in the world than Yaacov Lozowick, author of the blog Yaacov Lozowick’s Ruminations. He wishes to live in peace with Palestinians and other Arab peoples. He is no fanatical supporter of settlements. But he does not excuse and will not ignore the […]