Yes, it's true -- Da'Vine Joy Randolph used to babysit our eldest, Maya, when she was just two years old. Today Da'Vine is a Golden Globe and Critics' Choice winner for Best Supporting Actress for "The Holdovers," and is the favorite to win the Oscar later this year.
At the time she worked for us, Da'Vine had already established herself as a promising talent. She had graduated from Yale's prestigious graduate program in theater, and had been nominated for a Tony award. She was cast in a pilot TV show on NBC as well.
But the pilot never took off, and Da'Vine was between acting jobs. She didn't sit around and wait -- she worked. That's how she found her way to us (through another talented actress, whom we had found through UrbanSitter, a service that finds excellent babysitting help).
Ten years later ... and Da'Vine is achieving Hollywood greatness. The best part about it is that everyone seems to agree she deserves the recognition; "The Holdovers" is also in the running for Best Picture.
Lesson: never give up on your dream, and see thru the tough days.
This week's show will be slightly different from the norm: we'll focus on clips and topics, rather than guests -- and that, hopefully, will mean more input from the callers (unless you are all watching football on opening weekend).
Topics:
- The state of the economy
- The fight against crime
- The midterm election fight
- The struggle for peace between Russia and Ukraine
- The airstrike on the Venezuelan drug cartel
- The attempt to sink Kennedy
- The war in Gaza
- The case against Harvard
- The Trump presidency
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET / 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
This week's Torah portion includes several laws about conduct in civic and personal life, the common theme of which is boundaries -- setting bounds to what one may do at home, at work, and even in the battlefield.
One noteworthy passage concerns Amalek, the evil nation that attacked the Children of Israel as they made their Exodus from slavery to freedom. Deuteronomy 25:17-19 commands Jews to obliterate Amalek's memory.
The South African government accused Israel of genocide on the basis of a story about Amalek in the Book of Samuel, in which King Saul was commanded to wipe out the entire evil Amalekite nation.
Because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted this week's portion -- "Remember what Amalek did to you" (25:17), the South African government claimed he was commanding soldiers to commit genocide.
It was an absurd and malevolent misreading of the Bible and of Jewish tradition. The commandment, as observed by Jews today, is to remember the evil of Amalek and fight ...
