This week, the world is consumed by the war in Ukraine. There's a lot of bad commentary out there, and a lot of advocacy journalism, making it harder to figure out what's going on, and what we should do about it. Clearly, Russia is the aggressor here, and while NATO has compromised its credibility on the question of invading foreign countries that didn't attack member states first (Serbia, Libya, etc.), there's nothing to justify the first major land war in Europe since 1945 and the attendant humanitarian cost. The simple explanation here is that Russian President Vladimir Putin, boosted by high oil prices and taking advantage of President Joe Biden's weak return to the Obama-Clinton "reset" posture, took the opportunity to seize what he thought he could get easily. It turned out to be not so easy, and while Ukrainians are fighting for their lives, the rest of the world wonders how close we are to a superpower confrontation.
There's more going on, of course. I just returned from a trip to South Africa, and I'll have something to say about that. I've seen a country beginning to wake up from the pandemic -- and dreading a European war that will make recovery that much more difficult by raising fuel prices and depressing global trade. I've also seen the dysfunction of South Africa's governing systems -- and how they portend future disasters in our own system if we don't fix things, and soon.
February's jobs numbers point to a strong economic recovery -- but inflation remains a major problem, and Biden is still looking for ways to spend money. He tried dumping "defund the police" and demanded that Congress "secure the border" in his State of the Union speech this week. Is he for real? Meanwhile, the administration is backing efforts to "codify" Roe v. Wade -- and the bill facing Congress is rather shocking in its brazen "woke" rhetoric about abortion.
All that and more across three hours on the last Sunday of Standard Time...
With special guests:
- NFL great Jack Brewer on America's comeback, at the end of the pandemic
- Melanie Israel on the "Women's Health Protection Act" and abortion
- Grover Norquist on Biden's economic policy and the prospects of inflation
Listen live: SiriusXM 125, 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call in: 866-957-2874
This is my first broadcast from the new office and studio in Washington, DC, where I'll be for a couple of years my neighborhood back in L.A. cleans up -- and as we follow the Trump administration from a little closer up than usual.
Topics:
- The anniversary of the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump
- The escalating tariff battle with various different trading partners
- The future of the Middle East peace talks, and ongoing antisemitism
- The Jeffrey Epstein files and whether they mean anything at all
- The continued crisis of the Texas floods, and stories of heroism and survival
And more!
Special guests:
- James Rosen - Newsmax chief Washington correspondent
- Bob Price - Breitbart News Texas reporter, on the ongoing floods
- Robert Cahill - Trafalgar Polling, on a new alliance of reliable pollsters
- Rabbi Yaakov Menken - Coalition for Jewish Values - on Israel & antisemitism
Tune in: 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
This week’s portion tells the grand story of the prophet who tried to curse people of Israel and instead ended up blessing them.
I am reminded that these portions continue to be relevant anew, as this particular reading lent the title for Israel’s recent 12 Day War against Iran, “Operation Rising Lion.”
This week's portion includes the commandment of the red heifer -- one of the classic "irrational" commandments whose fulfillment is an expression of faith. It also includes the regrettable episode in which Moses strikes the rock.
I referred to this story in a wedding speech last night. Why was Moses punished for striking the rock in Numbers, when he struck the rock without incident in Exodus -- both for the purpose of providing water to the people?
The answer is that in the interim, the Jewish people had received the Torah, which is like the marriage contract between the people of Israel and God. In a marriage, you do not resolve things by breaking boundaries, but through love.
The additional reading, from Judges Chapter 11, is the story of Jephthah (Yiftach), a man whom the leaders spurn, but to whom they must turn to save the nation. The parallels to our present political circumstances are striking.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Fourth of July!
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