"Anti-Semitism is the stupid answer to a serious question: how does history operate behind our backs?"
Stephen Eric Bronner as quoted by Richard L. Cravatts in a timely op- ed denouncing anti-Semitism -- and the paranoia that underlies it -- in today's Asia Times

Best of the Week: Tim Noah's Meme Watch series in Slate (er, MSN Slate Magazine) has evolved from a rather glib jab at a certain kind of brain- dead Republican politics into a smart and stealthily serious (Good, and good for you!) analysis of national tax and spending policy. This week's entries (here and here) win The O'Toole File's first Best of the Week award hands down.

One I Missed: Somehow I overlooked this smart post two days ago on the difficulties that Democratic presidential candidates are running into as they try to actively campaign in The O'Toole File's home state of South Carolina while respecting the NAACP's ongoing economic boycott.
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