Rebecca Bratten Weiss

Another: the husband of a former friend who went on a weird rant in about the heroism of the Maccabees and how there should be a movie about it but also about how poor Mel Gibson was right about the Jews. This right in front of my proudly Ashkenazi self.

Another example: my former co-author with whom I want nothing to do, who wrote me a weird, inappropriate letter critiquing my opposition to MAGA and setting herself up as adjudicator of Jewish ethics and identity.

Example: the rich white lady quasi-academic who took issue with my depiction of a Jewish character. "Jews should be deeply spiritual like Edith Stein."

Note that 1) I'm ethnically Jewish. My critic wasn't.

2) My critic chose an example of a Jew who converted to Catholicism as a "real Jew."

I have issues with some things Mamdani has said but I have bigger issues with Cuomo's actual behavior. Either way this point stands. Among conservative catholics I encountered many people who fetishized the Ideal Jew while spreading hate about real live Jews in the world today.

Thank you!

I'm afraid I just plant them with a whopping big serving of organic fertilizer. They always do great but I'm not sure if there's a balance that could make them do even better.

This is why they think anyone in government must be in it for wealth and power: they can't imagine simply wanting to represent the people and work for a better community for all.

The handsies that mocked them and the heart that fed!

Well, I had an interesting Sunday night, how 'bout you?

Pay attention, headline writers: THIS is a proper headline. State what happened just as you would if it were any other gang of thugs, without parroting government euphemisms or excuses.

Thanks Steven!

I'm grateful for Pope Francis' 12 years of leadership. He had a good life and a good death. I know many catholics are worried that his successor will be more conservative, but the fact is, Francis himself was pretty conservative on some issues. Especially to do with women and LGBTQ issues.

I know he's dumb but I also can see him doing it on purpose just to taunt us for having standards.

Consequences can happen.

I think it's partially arrogance.

I get simply opting to forego treatment in many cases but when people do so because a grifter convinced them to, promising a miracle, and no miracle comes, and they die not only in pain but psychologically shattered - well, I think this should be grounds for prosecution.

Same with faith healers. They all have these amazing tales of people they cured but all I ever saw was folks dying because they'd been convinced they could reject conventional medicine and pray the disease away.

Over the years I've known many white middle-class practitioners of "alternative medicine" who claimed they could cure any number of ailments and either had "patients" die miserably on their watch, died themselves, or nearly died.

As far as I can tell, the ivermectin-slurping, essential-oil-hawking MAGAs think this is great.

Because they don't understand how much they rely on science for things they take for granted in daily life.

Including every time the essential oils didn't work and they ended up in hospital for weeks.

Oh God yeah. I need to plan an expensive trip to someplace warm and finance it by having a bunch of other people pay me for the privilege of tagging along.

Me, channeling Tevye: "so what would have been so terrible if I had a small fortune?" (i.e. that sweet, sweet $300 honorarium)

Amidst everything else going on, a minor quibble: I'm weary of writers who have been successful for years chide us that "we write for love, not to get rich."

I'm not trying to get rich, Ms. Italy Vacation. I just want to be able to afford my eventual cremation without piling more debt on my kids.

I'm sure a lot of crunchy fash types will say, "No worries, I grow my own!"

Because they do not care about anyone but themselves.

Also, that demographic is notorious for having no hygiene / safety standards. The "fresh poo on the lettuce beds" approach to gardening.

These are not people who can be trusted to evaluate reality accurately but I'm happy to work with them as long as they actually WORK versus just throwing hissy fits and calling it activism.

A nation where we just let far right goons haul folks off and torture them because it's "popular" is a nation where we let the immoral, demented MAGA movement win.

We should not be letting them direct any aspect of this narrative.

The cracks of his suffering remain visible. Like Japanese art.

This child really seems to think it's 1925 and writing about debauchery in European cities is still considered interesting.

Also the art in question:

He spent ten years BARING HIS SOUL we must respect this.