First off: I don’t hate all Irish people. When I meet an Irish person, I don’t have any feelings one way or another. Irishness has no moral content for me. But for twenty-five years, I hated the Irish. It’s because the Provisional Irish Republican Army—not an army; a band of alcoholic terrorists—nearly killed my brother…
The REAL paid trolls
June 2, 2015
Adrian Chen has written a stunning piece on Russian social media trolls. Titled “The Agency,” the article is a virtuoso example of investigative journalism. Chen can rest on his laurels forever, as far as I’m concerned. “The Agency” is the gold standard of how to expose wrongdoing. It’s a very long article, but here’s an…
Yom HaShoah
April 15, 2015
Wednesday, April 15, 2105, is Yom HaShoah in Israel, “Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day.” The Israelis remember not only those who were murdered but also those who fought back. This is what happens at 10:00 a.m. Unlike a lot of people, I never had any trouble believing that the Holocaust happened. My mother went to…
Not all conspiracy theories are equal
March 18, 2015
Last night while I slept—having a wonderful dream about discovering a photo album full of priceless postcards of World War I flamethrowers—the word went out on Twitter to label me a conspiracy theorist. Saying that certain ideas are nothing but conspiracy theories allows the accuser to not address troubling notions. In this case the Twits…