Most Recent Articles

Huckabee Slams Obama in Jerusalem Post

David Frederick — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:42:02 -0600

By David Frederick

Whether admitting he didn't know anything about the National Intelligence Estimate that reported that Iran had not had a program to develop nuclear weapons since 2003 after it had been plastered all over the media for days, or describing his ideal foreign policy as a triangulation between Thomas Friedman and Frank Gaffney, Mike Huckabee has had a difficult time faking expertise on foreign policy issues. Still, good Christian that he is, Huckabee soldiers on -- on to the pages of the ...

Marty Beckerman Talks Politics And Humor On MSNBC

David Frederick — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:31:13 -0600

By David Frederick

Last week I appeared on MSNBC to discuss political humor. Apparently I was supposed to analyze campaign bloopers instead of making jokes. The segment turned into something of a train wreck. (At least I looked terrific!) By the way, the second McCain joke was unplanned, uncalled for and I actually feel bad about it. Seriously, I've lost sleep. Senator John McCain is an American hero and I am a sissy, spoiled bitch who deserves to get his ass kicked. Please, sir, punch me in the face -- it ...

The Best And Worst Opinions Of The Day

David Frederick — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 11:44:44 -0600

By David Frederick

In our previous installment, we criticized right-wing blowhard Michelle Malkin for suggesting that poor college students should refrain from sex if they can't afford to raise children. (But if they're poor and married, they should go crazy?) To be fair, let's find a smart conservative quote and a dumb liberal quote today. Best: "Talking about a strong border is one thing. It's when you get into enforcing the law—which means deport—that you lose people's votes. ...

Blogging Birthright: Day 4, or Falling in Love with Israel at Masada

David Frederick — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:48:45 -0600

By David Frederick

Our Tour Guide Shows Us What Masada Used to Look LikeWe wake at 4:45 to climb Masada for sunrise. It’s a bit cloudy so the sun isn’t as spectacular as I'd hoped, but it's spectacular enough to inspire me to snap about 7,000 pictures of it. I’m supremely irked by the fact that our counselors choose the exact 30 minutes during which the sun slowly emerges into blazing glory as the perfect time to lead songs and prayers. I routinely tune them out and am one of two or three people ...

Yentas United Against Intermarriage

David Frederick — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:38:31 -0600

By David Frederick

Ronna and Beverly are loud, opinionated, and wear too much lipstick. Watch as they harass an innocent bookstore employee while publicizing their new book for Jewish singles, "You'll Do a Little Better Next Time." Yes, these yentas are fictional (yet eerily reminiscent of my mom's friends), and if you love them as much as I do, there are many more chapters in the Ronna and Beverly saga to enjoy. Here is one of the best.

The Best And Worst Opinions Of The Day

David Frederick — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:38:18 -0600

By David Frederick

Best: "This was the worst movie I've ever seen, so bad that I hesitate to label it a 'movie' and thus reflect shame upon the entire medium of film. do not practice the same craft as P.T. Anderson, David Cronenberg, Michael Bay, Kevin Costner, the Zucker Brothers, the Wayans Brothers, Uwe Boll, any dad who takes shaky home movies on a camping trip, or a bear who turns on a video camera by accident while trying to eat it. They are not filmmakers. They are evildoers, ...

John Currin Fights Repressive Fundamentalism ... By Painting Porn?

David Frederick — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:11:43 -0600

By David Frederick

The Kissers: John Currin's paintings spark controversy The artist John Currin is striving to bring sexy back, and he believes that the future of civilization depends on it. The New Yorker profiled the artist's career last week, focusing on his recent pornography-inspired paintings. (A small portion of the article with artwork is online.) Through "painting porn," Currin says that he seeks to challenge liberal, western societies that have disavowed -- and refused to defend -- ...

Jewish Modesty Warriors Take Up Burkas

David Frederick — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 10:59:27 -0600

By David Frederick

Y-Love, over at Jewlicious, calls attention to a crazy new trend in the ultra-Orthodox community. A small group of women in Israel, intent on being as uber-modest as possible, have started voluntarily wearing burkas and hijabs. Y-Love links to and quotes from Muqata blog, which has translated part of the Haaretz article about the new fashion move: Appropriate for Synagogue: and mosque, too. A group of Ultra-Orthodox chareidi women in Ramat Beit Shemesh have hyperbolated tznius to the ...

Blogging Birthright: Day 3, or Judaism Vs. Feminism at the Western Wall

David Frederick — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 10:53:11 -0600

By David Frederick

The Southern WallIn Europe you see 500 year-old shit. In Israel you see 2,000 year-old shit. Today we’re at such a spot: The Western Wall in Jerusalem. Our tour guide Offer calls it the place “closest to God on Earth” and “the holy of holies.” We visit the Southern Wall first, probably because it’s less crowded and allows us to have time to hold hands and sing, which Offer has us do while ascending the steps to the Southern Wall. I don’t sing because I don’t know these ...

Royal Rumble: Hitchens vs. Boteach

David Frederick — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 16:51:48 -0600

By David Frederick

Last night the 92nd Street Y hosted a debate between Mr. "Shalom in the Home" Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and the inimitable Christopher Hitchens on the existence of God, something so wholly unprovable that the only guaranteed outcomes were bruised egos and hangover scars from all the ecclesiastical elbowing and bad kosher wine. The buzz around the sold-out event was louder than a book-selling rabbi's shrill or a drunk Englishman's demand for another drink. (Just speaking ...