One might understand why the White House, under either party, might find that it has to change the planned time for events like the White House press briefing. Things change; reactions must adjust.
But the Biden administration's press briefings, at least at the White House, are almost never on time -- neither under Jen Psaki, nor under Karine Jean-Pierre. They are often more than half an hour late.
The reason? Punctuality is not a priority for Democrats in office. Recall that George W. Bush used to start his workday at something like 7 a.m., but Obama would reportedly stroll in after 9 a.m.
The point of holding office, for Democrats, is not to get things done -- which is understood by the media, which rarely holds them accountable for anything they have done or (more often) failed to do.
The point is to take the "right" positions , and to increase the power of the government and make sure your party continues to run it. You don't have to show up on time for that; it may be better if you don't.
This week’s portion launches the great story of Abraham, who is told to leave everything of his life behind — except his immediate family — and to leave for “the Land that I shall show you.”
There’s something interesting in the fact that Abraham is told to leave his father’s house, as if breaking away from his father’s life — but his father, in fact, began the journey, moving from Ur to Haran (in last week’s portion). His father set a positive example — why should Abraham leave him?
Some obvious answers suggest themselves — adulthood, needing to make one’s own choices, his father not going far enough, etc.
But I think there is another answer. Abraham (known for the moment as Abram) needs to establish his own household. This is not just about making one’s own choice, but really about choosing one’s own starting point. It’s starting over.
Sometimes we start over in fundamental ways even if much that surrounds us remains the same. Sometimes the journey we have to ...
The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.
Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?
One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).
Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).
Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.
Hi all -- as I noted last month, I'm going to be closing down my Locals page, at least for tips and subscriptions -- I may keep the page up and the posts as well, but I'm no longer going to be accepting any kind of payment.
Look for cancelation in the very near future. Thank you for your support!
