Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) says indefensible things now and again, but what is most interesting about her is how she manages to highlight the media's hypocrisy about its own conduct.
On Monday, Greene visited the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and apologized for comparing coronavirus restrictions to Nazi laws imposed on Jews. Her visit and apology were appropriate.
Leading news outlets, including the Washington Post and Reuters, tried to make her apology about other remarks. The Post complained that she compared Democrats to Nazis (something the Post does all the time with Trump and Republicans), and Reuters complained that she defended Trump for allegedly saying that white supremacists in Charlottesville were "very fine people" -- which he did not say. In fact, Trump said that the neo-Nazis and white supremacists ought to be "condemned totally."
The Charlottesville lie has become known as the "very fine people" hoax. It was comprehensively destroyed in the second impeachment trial. It's amazing -- or not? -- that a congressional reporter for Reuters continues to flog the hoax. But it shows how little accountability there is for the media.
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.
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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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