Joel Pollak
Politics • Lifestyle • News • Travel • Writing
I will share my thoughts about American politics, as well as current events in Israel and elsewhere, based on my experiences in the U.S., South Africa, and the Middle East. I will also discuss books and popular culture from the perspective of a somewhat libertarian, religiously observant conservative living in California. I will also share art and ideas that I find useful and helpful, and link to my content at Breitbart News, Amazon, and elsewhere.
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Blinken's Deeply Disturbing Performance at Davos

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is perhaps the most pathetic figure in the entire Biden administration. He's a "Russia collusion" hoaxer who also commissioned the fake "intelligence" letter to suppress reporting on Hunter Biden's laptop, and can't muster the strength to stand up to China, or anyone else -- except Israel.

Israel's apparent dependence on the U.S. for military funding and for munitions has encouraged Blinken and Democrats like him to think they can bludgeon Israel into accepting whatever they want -- to the point of ignoring the Middle East reality, which is not impressed by graduate school policy papers or consulting firm talking points.

Anyway -- Blinken went to Davos, to talk to Tom Friedman -- a "journalist" infamous for his expensive tastes, his total hypocrisy, and his belief that the only acceptable Israeli government is a left-wing one. Friedman went full antisemite a while back -- I know he's a Jew -- in attacking the "Jewish lobby" or some such. He's just a joke.

But in that environment, somehow, Blinken felt he could express his true self -- as if there were no reporters, as if he were just in a tight circle of friends. And he revealed: 1. He sees Israelis as the obstacle to peace, not Palestinians or the Arab world, even after Oct. 7; 2. He's committed to rewarding Hamas for terror with a Palestinian state.

I don't really have words for how insanely stupid these ideas are, but they are apparently what the world's elite love to hear. Which is a timely reminder that Israel's success is not a function of elite collusion but rather the outcome of a determined group of honest misfits who overcame idiocy of this kind from the establishment.

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Time-lapse sunrise at Temescal Falls
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This is what is left of my special place in the forest

Burned, then covered in mudslides and rockslides. The river still flows through it. But we have lost so much. I have to believe the spirit still lives on.

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The drive home 💔
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Weekly Torah reading: Noah (Genesis 6:9 - 11:32)

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.

https://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading.asp?aid=2473477&p=complete&jewish=Noach-Torah-Reading.htm

Closing all subscriptions

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!

Breitbart News Sunday: show rundown (October 19, 2025)

An interesting weekend -- one of the last of Daylight Savings Time -- in which there is much to celebrate, much to contemplate, and a bit to worry about.

The Gaza peace deal is shaky, but holding, after the living hostages returned; the shutdown is still going on, with no end in sight; the China trade war is heating up; and the confrontation with Venezuela continues to escalate.

The "No Kings" protest was a dud, despite the media's attempt to inflate it. What I find fascinating is that the Democrats have basically stolen the rhetoric and the imagery of the Tea Party protests, circa 2009. They claim they are defending the Constitution -- just like the Tea Party did.

On the one hand, this is good. How wonderful to have a political system in which both sides, bitterly opposed though they are, articulate differences through the Constitution -- and not, as in so many other countries, outside it.

On the other, this is sheer hypocrisy for the Democrats. Not only did they malign the Tea Party as ...

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