Perhaps you know the feeling: someone who makes an eloquent and insightful point in one context advocates nonsense in another. I find myself in this situation regarding my Huffington Post colleague Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. Some months ago in his blog, Rabbi Boteach made a remarkably astute point about...
297 Comments | Posted April 4, 2012 | 7:38 AM
The first amendment of the United States Constitution forbids state-sanctioned religion, yet guarantees the right to its expression: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Today, certain groups seem eager to promote nonsense in public education derived (openly or not) from...
52 Comments | Posted February 29, 2012 | 12:24 PM
"To accommodate" has a number of meanings. The positive ones include reconcile and cooperate; in a more pejorative context, it could mean to surrender or capitulate. In a diverse and civil society, there is clearly a need to accommodate in a positive way and to honestly distinguish between cooperation and...
350 Comments | Posted February 2, 2012 | 12:50 PM
Christopher Hitchens could inflict substantial rhetorical pain upon his opponents in debate and in print. Much like Steve Martin's character (a sadistic dentist) in the 1986 film adaptation of "Little Shop of Horrors," he was exceedingly good at dispensing discomfort. I like to flatter myself in thinking that had Hitchens...
9 Comments | Posted April 19, 2012 | 6:48 PM