Went to my youngest son’s graduation Monday (Emerson College – TV / video production )

Two and a half of the 5 speakers made explicit anti-Bush / anti-war statements. The half speaker, the college president, only made an implicit anti-war statement.

The two? The Rabbi that gave the invocation and the Unitarian that gave the benediction.

“…nefarious administration…” “…illegal and immoral Iraqi war…”

Yeah, I know it’s Boston, but what ya gonna do?

Best commencement speaker I’ve ever heard though. They had an alum class of ‘81 who just happens to be president of MTV (comedy channel, spike, etc.)

Great presentation, smart words and wisdom and no politics.

“focus first on what kind of America you think he’d build and second on whether you believe that as president he’d have the smarts, steel and cunning to seize a historic opportunity if it arises.”

“smarts, steel and cunning”, huh?

sounds like mccain to me.

As learning has become devalued at the universities, the main reason families beggar themselves to send their child to higher ed is… status. Once upon a time, I hired a harvard grad, and – though a charming girl – her brain was a cultural wasteland.

The scary thing about anti-semitism is, I truly believe – a symptom of intellectual decadence, a harbinger of societal failure. Anti-Zionism is anti-semitism attempting to be respectable.

If you want to read the ultimate put down of anti-Zionism you need to look to Alan Dershowitz. (You know that radical right wing Rethuglican /sarc)

Basically it comes down to this…..the anti-Zionists insist on a perfection and standards of Jews that they would never hold for non-Jews.

Every thug dictatorial regime gets a pass but Israel? They better not cause a Paleo hangnail or they are worse than the Nazis.

Is Israel perfect? No. Is it far better than most of the world ESPECIALLY any Arab land? You tell me.

Depends. I agree that often the claim of being “anti-Zionist” is often a thinly veiled cover for anti-Semitism, but I don’t see a disconnect between my being uncomfortable with how some of the settlements were established (especially those “founded” by sqatters) and tacit governmental approvement of them and my supporting Israel and Jews. After all, would you presume to imply that those Israelis in oppositin to the government are asti-Semites?

“I think that Obama membership in Wright’s church doesn’t bother a lot of people because they believe he only joined for cynical political reasons.”

And this is supposed to be an endorsement or a positive that offsets Rev. Wright? Maybe I’m too old fashioned and idealistic, but I’ll be damned if I would ever vote for any candidate of any party of whom I believed they phoned in twenty years of spiritual commitment to anything just to improve their electability.

Forget about all of ‘em. Pretend they don’t exist. That they never existed.

Now, remind me what makes Obama a qualified presidential candidate?

Because he is defined by what he isn’t and stands for what he’s not?

Sorry. I’m not convinced. And I don’t care what color he is. Or isn’t.

I think, for many reform and secular Jews (those who don’t practice in any way, but consider themselves ancestrally and culturally Jewish), left-liberalism has *become* their religion. They just take it on faith that the Democrats are good and mean well, and the Republicans aren’t and don’t. And as anyone knows, you just can’t debate away a person’s *faith*, no mantter how many counter-examples, statistical studies, or historical events you cite.

I remember, back in the mid 1990’s, my mother having a conversation with another Jewish woman after their Hadassah meeting had broken up (Hadassah is the international Jewish women’s charity organization). Mom and this lady were talking about some of the current events and issues of the day; the lady described how she thought welfare was necessary but isn’t healthy if it lasts longer than a couple of years, that politicians should perhaps have term limits so they don’t get too entrenched in power and influence, and so on.

My mom listened, nodding, and when the lady finished, Mom said, “Do you realize that you just echoed most of Newt Gingrich’s platform?”

The lady looked aghast, and replied, “Don’t talk to me about that devil!”

And there you go. The only things this woman reads or listens to (MSM in all its forms) villify Republican ideas, as do all this lady’s Jewish friends. It’s just accepted – by Jews- that part of the Jewish *identity* is voting Democrat, and no decription of the actual issues at stake will convince them otherwise.

It’s faith to them, and they see me – a Jewish woman who is a libertarian-conservative politically- am a bewildering, ridiculous apostate.

*sigh* Sometimes I just weep for my silly people.

Rep. Pete Stark from California is an admitted atheist.

While Obama has been careful to say all the right things in public about supporting Israel, his support in the Arab and Muslim communities in the US and abroad is strong. Palestinians in Gaza are manning phone banks to call US primary voters to vote for Obama. Palestinian propaganda web site Electronic Intifada’s co-founder Ali Abunimah has written about how Obama explained to him how he has to support Israel in a pro-forma manner to get elected, and Abunimah is understanding of that political need.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article6619.shtml

Obama represents the wing of the Democratic party that is most hostile to Israel.