From A Reporter’s Notebook
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Israeli Supreme court that his controversial deal on offshore gas fields, in the words of the Jerusalem Post, "helps chance of peace with many countries." The operative word must be "countries" since he didn't mention the Palestinians, because on the same day he indicated he's not interested in a EU effort to revive peace talks on the two-state solution. He denied a report from EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini saying Netanyahu "assured" her of his "willingness to engage in this new process." That is consistent with his campaign promise to block Palestinian statehood as long as he is in charge.
Antonin Scalia's passing raises an important question: Who's going to tell Clarence Thomas how to vote? Thomas has consistently if not entirely voted in tandem with the late conservative icon.
The brouhaha over filling the Court vacancy has absorbed Washington since the news hit town about Scalia's death. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell wasted no time in declaring he would block any attempt by Barack Obama to fill the seat. McConnell has declared since Obama took office that his highest priority was to make sure the first African-American president was a failure; his inability to make Obama a one-term president only intensified his determination. The SCOTUS opening exposes the hypocrisy of Republicans who accuse Obama of overstepping his constitutional authority. They are rushing to declare they will oppose anyone he nominates. Some have even indicated high-level federal judges they approved earlier without dissent would now be unacceptable. The judicial philosophy and politics of the nominee are irrelevant; all that matters is who nominated him or her. If Barack Obama were to nominate Ronald Reagan to the Supreme Court you can bet McConnell, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and their cohorts would unanimously oppose him.
Sarah Palin's son was arrested for being drunk and beating up his girlfriend, and Mommy blamed Barack Obama; after a few days of criticism she denied saying it. What's next: will she be blaming Bill Clinton or Obama for her unwed daughter's pregnancies?
If Ann Coulter were right about all "those f***ing Jews" wouldn't there be a lot more than 6 million of us in this country?
What do Ivanka Trump, Chelsea Clinton and Caroline Kennedy have in common? Jewish husbands.
Donald Trump makes fun of Hillary's age although he is 16 months older than she is. And he's the oldest of all the Republican contenders. And he's the only one whose hair is prematurely orange.
The Saudis would like to host the Olympic Games, but women would not be allowed to participate due to "certain cultural restraints," said Prince Fahad bin Jalawi Al Saud, who's pushing the dumb idea. They would have to compete in a different country. Jews presumably would only compete in the javelin-catching event.
Headline in Times of Israel: "Top Israeli researcher: Robots could take over most jobs within 30 years." Marco Rubio quickly responded, "Why wait? I'm ready now."