When Israel began defending herself against Hamas in June of 2014, I decided to debunk Pallywood video and photos. Almost immediately a man named Ali Gharib contacted me. He misrepresented himself in order to get the interview. It didn’t bother me that a man with a Muslim name wanted to talk to me. I wasn’t…
Even the mentally ill must show character
July 22, 2015
I’ve just read a piece about the Chattanooga jihadist (I won’t mention his name) who murdered four US Marines and a sailor at a naval training station on July 16, 2015. Four New York Times reporters wrote “In Chattanooga, a Young Man in a Downward Spiral.” It’s a very sympathetic piece that doesn’t even mention…
A face I’ll never forget
June 17, 2015
This is a face I’ll never forget. At the same time, I wish I’d never seen it. Yet I look at this photo every day. It reminds me that I’m not the center of the universe. As Jew-hating Twitter users never tire of pointing out to me, I suffer from depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress…
Explaining mental illness to stupid old Jew-haters
December 14, 2014
A couple of days ago, a Ron Paul toady named Martin went after me on Twitter for having the temerity to disagree with him. He was incapable of answering any questions I asked, and at the end of his hours-long spewage, he blocked me so that I couldn’t respond to him. Well, today he unblocked…
Not your problem
March 16, 2014
I’m mentally ill. But it’s not your problem. Some of my mental illness is genetic. I have clinical depression on both sides of the family. One relative lived by herself for decades, filling each room of her house with junk until there were piles that reached the ceilings. She used a chamberpot and emptied it…
The cow must die
March 3, 2014
This is a sad video, but it isn’t graphic. And it makes a broader point, so please watch it. “Awww, ya dumb fucker.” No, the cow doesn’t deserve its fate, but the engineer did all he could. The cow had the entire world to stand in. For whatever reason it chose to position itself on…
The joys of having a nonfunctional brain
February 22, 2014
The last coherent thing my father said to me was, “It’s hell when your brain doesn’t work.” Since I’d been knocked for a loop by the knowledge that we’d come to the end of the road, and now he’d have to go into hospice, I spoke without thinking. “Well, think of it as a vacation,”…
Discomfort is not assault
February 13, 2014
I just read an op-ed about artist Tony Matelli’s “Sleepwalker,” currently installed in the open at Wellesley College. Many of the students want the sculpture placed indoors because they say it makes them feel unsafe. Rather than comment on this particular contretemps, I’d like to talk about a quote from Robert Shibley, senior vice president at…
Seeing only what you want
January 14, 2014
A little followup on the reason why my publicists thought they could scam me without repercussions. It’s a classic case of seeing only what you want. The answer came to me when I reviewed e-mails that an interviewer sent. Writing about the book, your publicist refers to your humility… To me, you come off as…