Tag Archives: obama

Amazing Grace Christian Civil Religion (Barack Obama)

Posted on July 1, 2015 by zjb

The lion’s share of attention has gone to President Obama leading the congregation inside Charleston, South Carolina’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church singing Amazing Grace in his remarkable and perhaps historical eulogy for the Reverend Clementa Pinckney. Having heard about … Continue reading →

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Israel Anti-Zionism Anti-Semitism (Obama Interview)

Posted on May 22, 2015 by zjb

1+1=2. That is to say that it is the ability to think two thoughts that are in tension which is what impressed me the most about President Obama’s remarks about Israel and Zionism and anti-Semitism in his interview with Jeffrey Goldberg, … Continue reading →

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Telling Stories — Obama & The Banality (of Fighting) Evil

Posted on May 11, 2014 by zjb

Politically, maybe it’s true and there’s nothing the Unites States can do or wants to do in the world today. But the words used by President Obama and his spokespeople to save moral face don’t square with the desperate human … Continue reading →

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Israel Politics People Listening

Posted on March 21, 2013 by zjb

I was blown away by this picture in the New York Times of the audience in Jerusalem at President Obama’s recent speech. Different groups of Israeli young people thinking different thoughts. What a complex place and what a complex condition. … Continue reading →

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On Israel and Palestine and Barack Obama

Posted on March 21, 2013 by zjb

There was a lot of schmaltz in Obama’s speech in Jerusalem, but at its core, it was a tough minded speech. What I think Obama got right were the two fundamental drivers that create the tension that defines not just … Continue reading →

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Syria (Collapse)

Posted on January 30, 2013 by zjb

Listening to NPR on the drive up to Syracuse yesterday, the news was dominated by the most recent massacre in Aleppo, Syria, by the coverage of Egypt as society continues to come apart at the seams, and by Mali, another … Continue reading →

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Grassroots Cognitive Dissonance (Red State America)

Posted on November 11, 2012 by zjb

For a fascinating journalistic glimpse into what cognitive dissonance looks like at the grassroots level  after Obama 2012 in Red State America, see this article in the Washington Post. It goes to show that perception, like politics, is always local. … Continue reading →

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Liberalism (Vindication) (Obama 2012)

Posted on November 7, 2012 by zjb

Obama’s speech last night was a vindication of liberalism, based as it was on appeals to people from all walks of life. And I can’t help but think that it represents, or comes close to representing those very values important … Continue reading →

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The Pre-Debate & After-Debate (Politics)

Posted on October 23, 2012 by zjb

All the FB friends are dissecting this bit and that bit and sending up the memes about the debate last night between Obama and Romney about foreign policy, but we all know that the debate itself was so-so  in terms … Continue reading →

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