Lawrence (Laurie) Baron, now retired, served as the Nasatir Professor of Modern Jewish History at San Diego State University. He served from 1988 to 2006 as director of SDSU’s Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies. He was the founder in 1995 of the Western Jewish Studies Association.
He writes two satire columns for San Diego Jewish World: “Humoring the Headlines” under his byline, and “Hounding the Headlines,” under the byline of his dog Elona.
“Making Room for the Jews: The House I Live In (1945),” AJS Perspectives, Summer 2023, 86-88.
“The Revolt of Job: Salvaging the Lost World of Rural Hungarian Hasidim,” Journal of Jewish Identities, 16:1-2 (January/July 2023), 181-198.
“Persistent Parallels, Resistant Particularities: Holocaust Analogies and Avoidance in Armenian Genocide Centennial Cinema, in Armenian and Jewish Experience between Expulsion and Destruction, ed. Sarah M. Ross and Regina Randhofer (Berlin: De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2021), 267-296.
“The Pioneering American Jewish Women Directors from Elaine May to Claudia Weill,” Jews and Gender (Studies in Jewish Civilization), ed. Leonard Greenspoon (W. Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 2021), 217-243.
‘Twas the week before Christmas, the Reps in the House
Had struck a deal with nary a grouse.
The budget was set with no debt increase.
In hopes that ‘til March, there’d be fiscal peace. … [Laurie Baron]
Looking back over my past columns, I found my column for Hanukkah 2014. Since I’m always accused of being too partisan (guilty as charged), I want to reprint it in the spirit of Hanukkah which is ultimately about fighting for tolerance. [Laurie Baron]
Upon declaring our independence from British bulldogs in 1776, all creatures living in this land established the United States of Animals whose government parallels that of the human USA. This year the ostriches convinced us to put our heads in the sand and elect the Golden Deceiver while parrots incessantly repeated his lies. Since the Deceiver is rabid, he has nominated dangerous beasts to serve in his cabinet. [Elona Baron as barked to Laurie Baron]
My son asked me what I’m thankful for this year. I gave the standard answer: my creature comforts, dog, family, friends, health, and house. Then he queried if I was grateful that Trump was elected president. I struggled to find some reasons I hadn’t abandoned all my hope for the future. Here’s what I came up with. {Laurie Baron]
The Trump transition team plans to introduce a mandatory civil service exam for all federal government employees. It is considerably shorter than its predecessors. Here’s the first draft. [Laurie Baron]
FactCheck.org points out that his speeches last three times longer than hers because, as he puts it, what sounds like rambling is really an intricate weave. Has Trump read Shakespeare? The Bard wrote, “Oh what a tangled web we weave/When first we practice to deceive.” [Laurie Baron]
The low point of his comments came when he said, “This man was strong and tough, and I refuse to say it, but when he took showers with the other pros, they came out of there, they said, ‘Oh my God, that’s unbelievable.'” [Laurie Baron]
Donald considers the Kol Nidre the precedent for the Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity. When he recites it, he alters the language for the sake of political relevancy. [Laurie Baron]
Reacting to the ferocity of Hurricane Helene, Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on X: “Yes, they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.” Although Greene doesn’t say who “they” are, “they probably are the same Jews she blamed for igniting California’s wildfires in 2021 with giant space lasers. [Laurie Baron]
Much to the surprise of the pundits, the Vice-Presidential debate was very civil, with Vance and Walz bent over backwards to agree on many things even when they didn’t. Each strove to appear to be decent. Here are some of the outtakes that didn’t make it into the broadcast of the debate. [Laurie Baron]
If Robinson follows in King’s footsteps and gives his version of the “I Have a Dream Speech,” it might be retitled, “I Have an Extreme” and sound like this based on those posts and his current campaign pronouncements: [Laurie Baron]
After the second assassination attempt on Trump, the Secret Service announced new security measures to avert or thwart future attempts on his life. In addition to those Secret Service devises, here are some suggestions for additional security. [Laurie Baron]