Greetings one and all and welcome to this week's batch of Laura's Links.
April is going to be a busy month for Mark Steyn et al as The Mark Steyn Cruise sets sail in just a few short days. Bon Voyage to all the cruisers from near and far! I know it's going to be a fabulous European adventure and can't wait to hear all about it once you all set sail. While Europe is still (somewhat) Europe, it's wise to visit while you still can.
Chez Cohen and the Jewish world, it's pre-Passover, which means that there's a lot of cleaning and shopping and planning and cooking going on, which will all culminate with the Passover Seder. I've mentioned before that the Passover ceremony gets more and more meaningful to me every year. The songs, the prayers, and really remembering myself and my ancestors as slaves in Egypt, remembering myself wandering through the desert to the Promised Land, seeing myself receiving the Torah at Sinai. The Exodus and the giving of the Torah is not just a story, it's the living essence of being a Jew. It's something that Jews are meant to feel and remember personally every day of our lives. Passover is inspiring and beautiful and I feel so blessed to be a part of the Jewish people. I actually saw a great little video, made by an Israeli tour guide who said that if you are a Jewish person living today, even your very existence is a miracle. The way she described it, she said that if you are a Jew today, that means that your ancestors survived the Exodus, survived living in the Promised Land. Then you survived the many conquerors of the land, the destruction of the Temples, and survived the various expulsions-to Babylon, Europe ("Ashkenaz"), the Middle East, the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the Holocaust and the Farhood.
And yet, here we are.
My/our very existence is a miracle of the first order, and something I am so grateful for.
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As I've said a gazillion, million, bazillion times, there's lots to love about the Trump administration. There's way too much to list here right now, but one thing that I think is particularly excellent is its approach to the media, and new media in particular. There is no doubt that President Trump's appearances on podcasts during the campaign, (apparently at the urging of Baron Trump and Charlie Kirk), made a significant difference in capturing a new slice of the voting market. I love the changes that the administration is planning for the White House Press Room and welcoming podcasters into the fold is an excellent move. There are many podcasts that have millions of views every single day, and they beat the tired, mainstream Boomer media by miles and miles. There's just no comparison to the dud media. So Trump's media outreach is extremely clever, progressive and sensible.
These moves are keeping with the Trump doctrine of not doing the same thing as other people have done just because that's the way it's always been done (hello Gaza plan). He's willing to try new things in order to get new and better results. I love that. Obviously, there's also a "payback" element to public drubbing of the legacy media, but you know, those mainstream elitist media dweebs were not exactly kind to President Trump to put it mildly. He's sticking it to them where it hurts and frankly, it looks good on them. Victor Davis Hanson has also identified something similar; the Trump modus vivendi of putting the subjects of leftist/kook/woke torment into the exact positions and institutions of power that tortured them under the previous regime. WINNING! I like the cut of his jib on this stuff.
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Dr. Gadi Taub's is one of my current go-to people for good takes on Israel and Israeli politics. He's a historian with an ex. This is an excellent article about how Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is taking on the Israeli deep state. There's lots of parallels to America, so I think it's well worth your time.
And on that note, I'll bid you adieu for this week.
Merry cruising to all the cruisers and I'll see you in the comments!
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North America:
Yup. All of this.
RELATED: Lots of info on the situation here from the All-In Podcast.
"Don't mess with Texas." (rolls eyes).
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Israel and Jews:
Israel and the Israeli deep state. Sound familiar?
The Israeli woman who speaks to the Arab world.
"On the map, they had my name."
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Palestinians:
"This is the price for all who criticize Hamas." Unfortunately for him, no Jews, no news. Will anyone remember Uday Nasser Saadi al-Rabbay's name?
"We are dying because of Hamas."
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Christianity:
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The Formerly Great Britain:
The authorities are not on the side of the victims.
"Are you going to let me have my own money?"
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The Vanishing Mother:
"It was part of their Eid celebration."
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Europe:
Everything seems just fine in France. Anyone noticing a pattern here? Hungary, France, America, Romania, the Netherlands, Israel. Anyone? RELATED.
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Evil Kooks:
Canada does not need any more crazy people thankyouverymuch.
This "movement" is a socially sanctioned cover for very sick and evil sexual (mostly male) fetishes.
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Human Grace:
"This Shabbat is my birthday, and I find that life has gotten difficult. I wonder why G‑d has chosen to give me ALS. While it is difficult for me, it is by far harder on my wife, Dina, who has taken over all my responsibilities on top of her own. It is hard to understand why G‑d does these things. The only thing I can do is trust that He knows what He is doing."
"Your face is public property."
No, you don't have to be polite to strange men.
"Sally would never have matched with Harry on Hinge." Great insights from a very smart lady with a lot of moxy.
It's open thread time! Log into SteynOnline and let Laura know what you think of these stories or other happenings from the week that was. Commenting privileges are among the many perks of membership in The Mark Steyn Club. While going off topic is permitted on Laura's Links, do stick to the other rules as you engage: no URLs, no profanity, and no ad hominem attacks.
