Reading archive 2023-10-12

Texas boy, 13, convicted for killing Sonic worker with AR-style rifle

Nancy Mace gives herself an ‘A’: On Capitol Hill, fashion statements are an increasingly cheap way to get our — what’s the word... - "But 'something' never amounted to anything, because it turns out that wearing an outré object is not the same as being a thought-provoking person, and besides, what can you really say about a politician who has reached the most consequential realm of government but still seems to want to be noticed for their style more than their substance? What can you say, I mean, besides Yes, dear. We saw your denim vest. Bless your heart."

Opinion  The Hamas horror is also a lesson on the price of populism - "The real explanation for Israel’s dysfunction is populism rather than any alleged immorality. For many years, Israel has been governed by a populist strongman, Benjamin Netanyahu, who is a public-relations genius but an incompetent prime minister. He has repeatedly preferred his personal interests over the national interest and has built his career on dividing the nation against itself. He has appointed people to key positions based on loyalty more than qualifications, took credit for every success while never taking responsibility for failures, and seemed to give little importance to either telling or hearing the truth. 

"The coalition Netanyahu established in December 2022 has been by far the worst. It is an alliance of messianic zealots and shameless opportunists, who ignored Israel’s many problems — including the deteriorating security situation — and focused instead on grabbing unlimited power for themselves. In pursuit of this goal, they adopted extremely divisive policies, spread outrageous conspiracy theories about state institutions that oppose their policies, and labeled the country’s serving elites as 'deep state' traitors."

Opinion  Israeli-Palestinian conflict needs moral consistency, not moral clarity

Opinion  Israel doesn’t need an inquiry to decide: Netanyahu must go - "Tyrants and terrorists often underestimate the fighting capacity of liberal democracies, mistaking the pursuit of commerce for a lack of martial virtues and political divisions for lack of unity. Napoleon derided England as a 'nation of shopkeepers' before losing to the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo. Hitler thought the United States was 'a decayed country,' 'half Judaized and half Negrified,' before U.S. bombers reduced his cities to rubble and U.S. armies defeated his legions at D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge. Osama bin Laden thought America was a 'weak horse' before SEAL Team Six finished him off. So, too, Hamas has now made a grave miscalculation with its horrific and barbaric assault on Israel, which resulted in the worst one-day loss of life for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Hezbollah will be making a similar mistake if it enters the war now."

For years, Netanyahu propped up Hamas. Now it’s blown up in our faces: The premier’s policy of treating the terror group as a partner, at the expense of Abbas and Palestinian statehood, has resulted in wounds that will take Israel years to heal from

Trump recenters the violence in Israel on himself

Washington Post cuts follow rapid expansion, unmet revenue projections: ‘This is a really good business that we overshot on expense,’ interim CEO Patty Stonesifer said. Now the company is hoping to reduce staff through buyouts.

The first National Coming Out Day 35 years ago took on Reagan and AIDS stigma