David P. Goldman

That, of course, is a variant of a Polish joke that decency prevents me from citing here. Considerable ink has spilled over the proposition that Poland’s Bishop Tadeusz Pieronek is an anti-Semite, following remarks about Jewish exploitation about the Holocaust, already posted in this . . . . Continue Reading »

Call it the Clinton Clutch”the stylized maneuver in the political playbook for incumbent Democrats who have run into a spot of bother. President Obama’s first State of the Union address last night will be interpreted as a replay of Clinton’s 1995 classic… . Continue Reading »

I posted this proposal at the “Inner Workings” blog but believe the issue is important enough to reiterate here:Today’s lead Bloomberg News report that the French banks were willing to accept a haircut on their AIG swaps suggests that the New York Fed lied about the . . . . Continue Reading »

Asia Times Online today has a disturbing report on Iranian efforts to hijack the electoral process in Iraq:The kerfuffle triggered in Iraq by a government panel’s recent disqualification of over 500 candidates from the parliamentary elections in March has engendered a new crisis that threatens . . . . Continue Reading »

Daniel Pipes posted this evaluation of the State Department’s decision (dictated by Obama) to overrule a longstanding ban on permitting the Islamist academic Tariq Ramadan to enter the US:Jan. 20, 2010 update: From today’s Associated Press:Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton . . . . Continue Reading »

I have boundless regard for Paul Volcker, but the proposed restrictions on bank proprietary trading are, well, fixing the barn’s roof after the horse has bolted. The Obama administration really,really doesn’t get the joke. The banks went bankrupt by loading up on supposedly ultra-safe, . . . . Continue Reading »

Note: attendance is by invitation. If you would like to attend please send a request to events@firstthings.com Christian and Jewish Song of Songs ExegesisFirst Things is pleased to host a seminar on Christian and Jewish exegesis of the Song of Songs featuring two distinguished scholars:Prof. Shalom . . . . Continue Reading »

The Vatican released Jan. 19 a discussion document in preparation for a synod of Mideast bishops next Oct. 10-24. I haven’t been able to locate the full text yet, but news reports indicate that it is really awful.I’ll believe it when I get the official text, but snippets quoted in the . . . . Continue Reading »

The Italian Vatican-watcher Sandro Magister, whom authoritative sources characterize as an authoritative source, provides an important perspective on Benedict XVI’s visit yesterday to the Rome Synagogue. His report includes a complete translation of the pope’s remarks. Although Benedict . . . . Continue Reading »

Each of us has a unique contribution to make—and each of us must persevere in our efforts to realize that contribution. This was the message that Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, a contributor to First Things , conveyed in a guest sermon at Congregation Orach Chaim in New York, at Shabbat services on . . . . Continue Reading »