BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

By David Harsanyi Unity: n. the state of being one; oneness -- especially when your chosen political party happens to win an election. Barack Obama is now my president. Though I wonder whether irascible Democrats who rode around with those snazzy bumper stickers reading "He's not my president" for the past eight years realize the irony of their call for national harmony. Let's hope there's none. Winning elections is one thing; governing is quite another. It is impossible to deny that Obama ran one of the sharpest, most diligent and exhilarating campaigns in modern American history or, for that matter, that the liberal wing of the Democratic Party has won a resounding mandate to run the country. That only means we need a robust and principled opposition. My children continually are lectured by well-meaning adults about the mystifying power culled from our differences, the strength we derive from our disparate upbringing, and the power of diversity. So why, one wond...

By their fruits ye shall know them. By Stanley Kurtz What if Barack Obama’s most important radical connection has been hiding in plain sight all along? Obama has had an intimate and long-term association with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (Acorn), the largest radical group in America. If I told you Obama had close ties with MoveOn.org or Code Pink, you’d know what I was talking about. Acorn is at least as radical as these better-known groups, arguably more so. Yet because Acorn works locally, in carefully selected urban areas, its national profile is lower. Acorn likes it that way. And so, I’d wager, does Barack Obama. This is a story we’ve largely missed. While Obama’s Acorn connection has not gone entirely unreported, its depth, extent, and significance have been poorly understood. Typically, media background pieces note that, on behalf of Acorn, Obama and a team of Chicago attorneys won a 1995 suit forcing the state of Illinois to implement the federal “m...

Entire Liberal Blogosphere Actually Just One Incredibly Prolific Man Steve Benen, the liberal blogger who runs The Carpetbagger Report, has recently been discovered to be the sole author of almost every liberal blog dealing with U.S. politics on the internet, blog readers recently discovered. At first Benen was writing The Carpetbagger Report and allegedly guest blogging on sites such as TalkingPointsMemo, the Washington Monthly's blog, Political Animal, and Crooks and Liars. However, a visitor to TalkingPointsMemo, who saw a video of the alleged author and blog founder "Josh Marshall," immediately recognized him to be actor Marshall Mappschteen, with whom he had performed "Guys and Dolls" in college. A phone call to Mappschteen resulted in revelations that eventually uncovered Benen as the author of more than 260 liberal blogs. Subsequent investigation revealed that popular "bloggers" Atrios and Political Animal's Kevin Drum are actually fellow le...

We Don't Want More Liberal Representatives, We Want Stronger Ones Sorry I haven't posted today. I have been struggling for a week with pneumonia. Then I had a very bad PTSD trigger last week (totally unexpected and out of the blue) which really messed me up for a few days. I thought I was feeling better after a few rounds of IV antibiotics but now I feel like a truck's parked on my chest. Ugh. I couldn't even make my late Nana's famous latkes today - but I did get the kids to & from school. So with Olmert, Abbas, Bush, Condi and all the other clowns that are destroying what's left of their countries, here's some very interesting reading from Cenk Uygur . Happy Hanukah everyone. There is this misconception in the press and in Washington that the netroots and other progressive activists want their representatives to be more liberal. The myth is that we want to drag the party all the way to the left and take them away from the center. Nothing could be...

THE HANNITY INSANITY Even time I watch Hannity & Colmes I feel like I should take a very hot shower and scrub down with sandpaper. Only Bill O'Reilly makes me feel dirtier. Hannity is an assault on my intellect. Colmes is such a milquetoast, I want to find out if he's a eunuch or just missing an internal skeletal system. For any neocons out there who think Hannity is still sane or even operating on the same planet as the rest of us, read on... On October 31, 2007, Hannity got into a discussion with Colmes about Halloween. Hannity feels that Halloween is a "liberal holiday." Sean's reasoning for Halloween being a liberal holiday? Buckle up - this is gonna make you fall right off your chairs and take you keyboards with you! HANNITY: You know what? I totally agree. I've got two young kids, and I am the food police. And I'm constantly monitoring what they eat. GERALDO RIVERA (Fox News host): And but for your involvement, wouldn't they eat the wo...

RIGHT-WING BRAIN vs. LEFT-WING BRAIN Interesting... Homo politicus: brain function of liberals, conservatives differs by Marlowe Hood The brain neurons of liberals and conservatives fire differently when confronted with tough choices, suggesting that some political divides may be hard-wired, according a study released Sunday. Aristotle may have been more on the mark than he realised when he said that man is by nature a political animal. Dozens of previous studies have established a strong link between political persuasion and certain personality traits. Conservatives tend to crave order and structure in their lives, and are more consistent in the way they make decisions. Liberals, by contrast, show a higher tolerance for ambiguity and complexity, and adapt more easily to unexpected circumstances. The affinity between political views and "cognitive style" has also been shown to be heritable, handed down from parents to children, said the study, published in the British...

A LITTLE LIBERAL READING Many thanks to THE RICHMOND DEMOCRAT for giving me a mention in the 44th Edition of the Carnival of the Liberals. I love this quote from Moral Courage on this carnival: In order to be morally courageous, you have to honor each of these three components. You have to have principles, and really value them, and be astute enough to apply them and prioritize them in the ambiguous real world. You have to recognize the risks, and look honestly at the consequences of action and inaction. And you have to draw on your character and your experience to give you the faith that allows you to take risks for your principles. Some good finds on this carnival. CLICK HERE TO GIVE IT A READ I love these blog carnivals because I always find fresh views, new blogs & resources. Just about as much as I love a decent aggregator! CARNIVAL OF THE LIBERALS PLEASE CLICK HERE TO JBLOG ME

YOU MEAN, I'M NOT THE ONLY PRO-ISRAEL LEFTY? I actually read this in THE FORWARD with some relief. I knew of only one other left learning Jew who is also pro-Israel. Herewith, the letter, answered by the inestimable Alan Dershowitz: Dear Prof. Dershowitz, I am a very politically liberal Jew. However, I find great discomfort with liberal activist organizations when it comes to Israel. Their messages are frequently strident and are often indistinguishable between being anti-Israel and antisemitic . Equally problematic is finding myself in the camp of the neo-cons and other right-wing groups in their support of Israel. Is there no place for a liberal Jew who supports Israel? LONELY LIBERAL Alan Dershowitz replies: I, too, am a politically liberal Jew who supports Israel, though I am critical of some of its policies (as I am of some policies of every country). You are absolutely right that the hard left has made it politically incorrect to show any support for Israel. Indee...

MY POLITICAL PROFILE: Your Political Profile: Overall : 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal Social Issues : 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal Personal Responsibility : 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal Fiscal Issues : 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal Ethics : 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal Defense and Crime : 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal How Liberal Or Conservative Are You? You Are 98% Feminist You are a total feminist. This doesn't mean you're a man hater (in fact, you may be a man). You just think that men and women should be treated equally. It's a simple idea but somehow complicated for the world to put into action. Are You a Feminist? PLEASE CLICK HERE TO JBLOG ME

Half a century on, Polish Jews rediscover religious heritage Great-grandfather Josef, (wielki dziadek) and Nana Magda -- wherever you are now - I hope you are reading this one! Ludmila Krzewska has decided it is finally safe to be Jewish ( ŻYDOWSKI ) in Poland again. She endured anti-Semitic taunts as a child. Her grandmother would have been killed by the Nazis had a Catholic family not taken her in. And her mother was too traumatized to practice Judaism after the war. That all caused her to bury her background as she grew to adulthood in Warsaw. But when the 25-year-old biology student ventured to recover her heritage five years ago, she met a different kind of rejection. She sought out Warsaw's Orthodox Jewish community, but was discouraged by one member because "I have a 'goyish' husband," she recalls. The message did not come from the rabbi - but it was enough. So she turned to Warsaw's fledgling Progressive Jewish community, her husband eventually conver...