It's been a tough year for America, for Israel, and for the world. Our economy feels shaky, there are still 100 hostages in Gaza, and the future feels uncertain. But in spite of it all, 2024 has been an incredible year, and not just for me.
I'll start with the personal. My wife, Julia, and I were blessed in September with the arrival of our son Rafael, our fourth child. He shares a birthday with my late mother-in-law, Rhoda Kadalie. We now have 2 girls and 2 boys, each wonderful.
My wife is as lovely as ever. On December 30 (tomorrow!) we will celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. I remain in awe of her in every way -- as a wife, a mother, an economist, a friend. A sexy, brave, dream of a woman. I'm so lucky.
My children continue to grow from strength to strength. My eldest daughter persevered and passed her lifeguard test; my elder son made the All-Star team in baseball; my younger daughter began taking ballet and is growing quickly.
My sister also had her first child -- also a boy -- and my brother announced his engagement. I completed my seven-year study of the Talmud, and started over, making a "Siyum HaShas" -- a rare achievement I never dreamed that I'd reach.
I expanded my creative work -- thanks to the encouragement of our friend and neighbor, the model and photographer Jessica Vaugn, who is teaching me to take photos, and encouraged me to put my library of work on Audible (I did).
I was blessed to be able to visit Israel four times -- once to follow Javier Milei, once during the first Iranian missile attack, once with a tour group of Christian leaders, and once at the end of the war in Lebanon. Each trip was very special.
It was amazing to watch Israel go from depressed, and embattled, a year ago to cautiously optimistic, and almost victorious, today. There is still much to do, but Israel is safe, and the common Israeli soldier has transformed the Middle East.
At home in the U.S.A., we witnessed the miracle of Donald Trump surviving an assassination attempt. He went on to win the election, and the popular vote. He will take office with a mandate, and the country seems to want him to succeed.
I experienced moments of pure beauty. Some that stand out: the waterfalls of Los Angeles after a wet winter; seeing surfers on Lake Michigan in the Chicago summer; capturing a photo of a comet in the twilight above the Pacific Ocean.
I felt I achieved a great deal of personal growth as well, at a deep and emotional level. There are things I achieved, in terms of my own routine, and in managing my emotions, that felt like genuine breakthroughs. I feel I'm moving upwards.
That said, there were some low moments, and some mistakes. Thankfully, these were setbacks from which one can recover. My weight went up, for example; I cut carbs (doctor's orders) and I've lost about 5 pounds since Thanksgiving.
There are some challenges that still remain. Some involve me, and some involve close friends. I'm trying to be the best I can be -- for myself, and for them. I may have to take some risks in the new year. There may be no better time.
So here's to 2024, and to 2025. I wrote at Breitbart that 2024 was a year of miracles -- and now we need more miracles in 2025. Maybe we need to make them happen instead of waiting for them to happen. Happy New Year to all!
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!
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 ...
