David P. Goldman is a senior editor of First Things.
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David P. Goldman
Web Exclusives Articles
The Torture Debate Shows Our Vulnerability to Radical Evil
Radical evil sets the threshold of victory so high that we risk contamination by confronting it on its own terms. Terrorists tempt us to torture them, by striking against innocent noncombatants out of the shadows. The present debate over torture is a black cloud as big as a man’s hand . . . . Continue Reading »
Confessions of a Coward
Early in April, with the publication of the May issue of First Things, I stepped out from behind the pseudonym Spengler to begin arguing my more considered ideas under my own name. The experience has been an interesting one: constricting in some ways and yet freeing in others. My Spengler columns actually began as a joke. In 1997 the Asia Times asked me to write a humor column, and the name Spengler seemed a funny touch: the author of The Decline of the West as a comic writer for an Asian daily. The print edition of the newspaper soon went under, but I revived the persona for the online-only edition in 1999. Contrary to my expectations, it won an audience and became a vehicle for more than I had originally imagined it would be. Continue Reading »
Jack Kemp, 1935-2009
Jack Kemp passed away this weekend, of cancer at age seventy-three. Former vice-presidential candidate, congressman, and Housing secretary, he was the most improbable and the most important hero of the Reagan Revolution after the Gipper himself. Without Jacks true-believers passion for . . . . Continue Reading »
How Jewish is the State of Israel?
Israels Independence Day, the 5th of Iyar according to the Jewish calendar, falls on April 29th this year. This is always an occasion to reflect on Israels prospects, and, as always, there is good news and bad news.Earlier this week the head of the Palestinian Authority, Muhammed Abbas, . . . . Continue Reading »
Either Way, Amalek Must Die: A Passover Meditation
The harsh demands of the Hebrew Scriptures to rid the world of heathen enemies continue to be holy words for Christians. Continue Reading »
Benedict XVI and the State of Israel
May 14 is Israel’s Independence Day (celebrated according to the Jewish rather than the Gregorian calendar), recalling the declaration of the State of Israel in 1948. For Palestinian Arabs the following day, May 15, is a day of mourning, “Disaster ( Naqba ) Day.” It has gone . . . . Continue Reading »
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