Days of Affirmative Action in Admissions Are Numbered
Affirmative action seeks to address past discrimination on account of race, gender, or national origin. It isn’t a “free pass,” but as the law now stands, it allows educational institutions to consider...
View ArticleMy Fourth Shot and Biblical Wisdom
If there’s one rule that most of us can get behind, it’s the Golden Rule—"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (Matthew 7:12). Its Old Testament counterpart is “Love your neighbor as...
View ArticleMy Father’s Generous Friend and Asking Too Much
When I was nine, I went to Camp Arcadia in Maine, and I went back the next two summers. You could sign up for various activities, and although I would happily have spent all my time playing baseball, I...
View ArticleThe King Can Do No Wrong But His Servants Can
There’s a doctrine called sovereign immunity, which goes back to the concept that the king cannot be hauled into court no matter what. In today’s terms, it means that you can’t sue a state or the...
View ArticleThe Bell Has Tolled for Constitutional Truth
“On a huge hill … truth stands, and hee that will reach her, about must, and about must goe.” John Donne, The Hill of Truth In 1973, the Court decided in Roe v. Wade that the Fourteenth Amendment...
View ArticleMy Memorial Plaques and the Question of Ownership
My grandfather Steinfield, for whom I am named, died in Claremont on December 12, 1911. He is buried in Adath Israel Cemetery in West Roxbury, Massachusetts. My grandmother Steinfield died on October...
View ArticleMy Cousins from Poland and Survival in the Forest
1. Prologue Chaim and Ruchele Feldman, brother and sister, were born a long time ago in Derechin, a small village which was then in Poland, now Western Belarus. Their mother’s maiden name was...
View ArticleThe Supreme Court’s Religion Decisions Should Concern Members of All Faiths
This article originally appeared in the October 9, 2022 Concord Monitor. During 2020, the first year of the pandemic, governors in several states, including Nevada, California, and New Hampshire,...
View ArticleMy Christmas Places and A Wonderful Life
I never expected the word “antisemitism” to rear its ugly head openly in America. But recent years have defied expectations, and we now see entertainers, professional athletes, and elected officials...
View ArticleActivism is In, Judicial Restraint is Out
This article originally appeared in the December 18, 2022 Concord Monitor. This Supreme Court doesn’t much care for stare decisis, meaning respect for precedent. We know that from the Dobbs case,...
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