From The Files of Nefarious Newt

@bacom37: We shouldn't need a road map at this poi...

2009-10-14T10:28:02.757-04:00

@bacom37: We shouldn't need a road map at this point, but if you need concrete examples, here are the kinds of things we need to do more of in all neighborhoods, not just poor ones:

- Day care for poor working mothers
- After school programs to encourage reading, writing, music, and arts
- Increase the presence of adults in the lives of kids, through new and existing programs

Neighborhoods used to take care of themselves. People used to work together. Now, we retreat behind our doors and windows, pull the blinds, and ignore the world outside. We put more effort into going to the gym than we do to improving the lives of those around us.

And I am not claiming to be prefect -- there is certainly more I can do. I just think we all need to find the time to do these things, to steer kids away from destructive behaviors and expand their horizons.

You've written a string of platitudes. Be more s...

2009-10-11T20:23:46.916-04:00

You've written a string of platitudes. Be more specific; what would you like ordinary Americans - those of us with blood on our hands - to do to prevent this kind of tragedy?

Thank you. I think the idea that you should leave ...

2009-10-01T15:11:32.225-04:00

Thank you. I think the idea that you should leave things better than you found them is at the heart of our existence as human beings. Whatever advantages each of us has individually, it is not enough to simply pass them on, but to nurture them, make them grow, and spread them. Ideas such as justice, well-being, shelter, nourishment... these are not things that we can keep to ourselves.

The problem is that we come from such disparate settings, and backgrounds, and points of view, that we allow those things to obscure the truth -- that we are all one species, mankind, and have only one home. No division we create, no belief we hold, no aspect of ourselves we use to judge, can alter that fact.

Oh Newt, I love you. This is so powerful. Especial...

2009-10-01T14:52:03.171-04:00

Oh Newt, I love you. This is so powerful. Especially this: "It is in the hands of every one of us to make sure that our nation is better than it was the day before," and especially-especially this: "If we listen to the voices that say there is no profit in helping others, we stain the memory of those who fought to give us freedom with the blood of innocents." We Jews call it tikkun olam, repairing the world. We're not required to complete the task, any one of us, but neither are we free to desist from action. The union will only be made more perfect if we act to make it so, and that goes all the way down into the angry streets of hopeless boys, and the children who live and die in fear of them.

So eloquently written. I mark 9/11 as the day I b...

2009-09-11T13:43:55.938-04:00

So eloquently written. I mark 9/11 as the day I became politically active. Beforehand, I sort of just thought things would run how they run and life would go on. I remember Bush winning and being terrified of what would happen. I remember watching those towers, over and over, after I spoke with every member of my family and friends and knew they were far away from the downtown area, that I couldn't just be passive anymore. Its weird to see buildings, which have existed my entire life, were landmarks when lost in the city and housed a few of my family member's jobs, GONE.

Oddly enough, I was in my junior year at a college 15 miles north of NYC and had come late that year because I had nightmares for weeks at the end of the summer of planes crashing on my campus. I had returned to school the weekend before, a week late, and was terrified about having to deal with such a crisis away from home. My school was on lockdown because we shared an entrance with a major small airport, so for a week, my school was in this arrested place, where kids remain when scary shit happens and no one discusses it.

I was there a few days after, helping a friend, and it was bizarre, dust everywhere, the city was filled with gloom. While we were all nice to each other, I think it was more out of fear than pride. Its still hard to hang out in that area and deal with what happened. As an adult, I passed up a job downtown at AMEX b/c I couldnt bare the walk over the pit every day to and from work. I just cant believe after 8 years, it is essentially they same rubble and ash that was there on this day in 2001. I'm rambling, but its hard to put into words what that day really means.

When the first tower fell, I was in an executive o...

2009-09-11T10:06:45.103-04:00

When the first tower fell, I was in an executive office. CNN was on the TV, showing the towers burning. I could look through a gap between two buildings, and see them burning. Then there were the excited shouts and screams coming from the TV, and the announcer was saying the tower was collapsing. I watched it fall on the TV, then turned to look out the window, and it was gone. It was a surreal moment, knowing this was happening not 4-5 miles from me.

I can't imagine how it must have been to be in NYC...

2009-09-11T09:32:44.546-04:00

I can't imagine how it must have been to be in NYC that morning. I was on the west coast (but was at work--retail--already when everything started happening). It was surreal. I got home in time to see the towers fall on TV, and my dad and I just sat there, silent and staring. We didn't want to look, but we couldn't look away.

Bravo! Well-written.

2009-09-10T19:00:28.876-04:00

Bravo! Well-written.

Sadder still that the people who need to read it w...

2009-08-27T13:31:46.294-04:00

Sadder still that the people who need to read it won't, and if they did, would probably scoff. Ignorance has an amazing power to block reason and logic.

2 thumbs up. Sad that you had to write it.

2009-08-27T13:28:55.155-04:00

2 thumbs up. Sad that you had to write it.

Good post, Newt. RIP, Mr. Kennedy.

2009-08-26T09:43:13.870-04:00

Good post, Newt.

RIP, Mr. Kennedy.

A beautiful post. If anything good can come out of...

2009-08-26T08:20:08.083-04:00

A beautiful post. If anything good can come out of such a sad passing, I hope that it will be a renewed commitment to one of his life's works: health reform. I'm sure the bill will be named for him, and I only hope it will meet his standards and include coverage for all Americans.

damn straight "You don't know tyranny"

2009-08-14T11:40:05.882-04:00

damn straight "You don't know tyranny"

Amen! It's like, "You there, with the sign! Please...

2009-08-14T07:26:33.296-04:00

Amen! It's like, "You there, with the sign! Please take a moment to remember that YOU'RE ALLOWED TO DO THAT. And maybe use your inside voices so we can all hear each other as we take our turns. Thanks!"

Evocative! I'm sure I'll find myself quoting your ...

2009-06-05T15:43:37.716-04:00

Evocative! I'm sure I'll find myself quoting your last line sometime...

Just keep being the best person you can be, that's...

2009-05-30T22:08:01.619-04:00

Just keep being the best person you can be, that's all you can do. The people who care will notice.

The problem with movements is that you want to get...

2009-05-16T10:45:00.000-04:00

The problem with movements is that you want to get new people to embrace it, yes---at first. But all bureaucracies eventually exist to serve themselves; once a thing becomes a movement, and organization with its own character and methods, it naturally begins to defend itself against incursion.

It's like inertia; the more people you get on board at the beginning, the faster you go. But after a few years, you've got so many people involved that you can't stop it, or change it, or do anything to it.

I agree that it should and it will continue to exp...

2009-05-14T20:24:00.000-04:00

I agree that it should and it will continue to expand and move forward. I think these changes scare some "old guard" types because they fear giving up any kind of power they have, whether real or imagined, or they think the way things have always been done is the right and only way to do things. Or perhaps they see these changes as an affront to or rejection what they worked for?

Well, I thought the whole idea of any movement was...

2009-05-14T17:11:00.000-04:00

Well, I thought the whole idea of any movement was to get everyone to embrace it, or if not, at least tolerate it. Feminism has been making great strides, and it's only natural that the movement should change as its scope broadens.

I think this is a problem with many "old guard" si...

2009-05-14T17:03:00.000-04:00

I think this is a problem with many "old guard" situations. They can't handle the natural evolution of things and panic when they feel their power and control slipping away. Instead of learning more about the "new guard" and adapting, they lash out and come off sounding really ridiculous and out-of-touch. (I'm looking at you, GOP.)
It's a shame, because even if they have valid points/issues somewhere, they're lost in the sea of crazy.

Indeed. I think going on two years now. I mean, if...

2009-05-14T16:41:00.000-04:00

Indeed. I think going on two years now. I mean, if you really read her article, most of what she cites is older material. Something tells me she has no idea what life is like at Jezebel right now. And of course, she'd never read it on a daily basis, because she might actually start to like it.

She's like the Dick Cheney of feminism.

Also, didn't the interview they're talking about h...

2009-05-14T16:34:00.000-04:00

Also, didn't the interview they're talking about happen, like, a year and a half ago? Moe doesn't even work at Jezebel anymore!

(Not that I don't love Moe, because I do. I'm just saying.)

Vive la revolution! Excellent, timely piece.

2009-05-07T01:57:00.000-04:00

Vive la revolution! Excellent, timely piece.

I know you have a real job and everything, but on ...

2009-04-10T11:44:00.000-04:00

I know you have a real job and everything, but on behalf of those of us who are still in the academy doing religious studies:

There is actually a pretty significant pluralist movement afoot. The newish buzzword is "interfaith dialogue" and there are constantly forums of nonbelievers, Christians, Jews, and (more now than before 2001) Muslims chatting about what divinity means and repeating over and over that we agree on more than we disagree for the most part. The language is shifting from "Judeo-Christian" to "Abrahamic faiths" and truly people love to talk about this stuff. You're in New Jersey: the Princeton divinity school undoubtedly has evening and weekend talks on this sort of thing, as does Rutgers probably, and this is probably too far north for you but my alma mater in North Jersey does a Thursday evening talk once a month, and it's usually on some sort of pluralist or interfaith topic.

You should check out Opening the Covenant by Michael Kogan, a man who has dedicated 45 years of his life to interfaith dialogue between Christians and Jews (plus he's local!) and who has been described as a prophet by colleagues and reporters.

I find myself of the terrible mindset where I am r...

2009-04-09T16:33:00.000-04:00

I find myself of the terrible mindset where I am rude to anyone who is not openminded. I expect everyone to be open to a multitude of believes and find myself judging those who are not.