Patterico's Pontifications

7/2/2016

Elie Wiesel, 1928 – 2016

Filed under: General — Dana @ 9:50 pm



[guest post by Dana]

Death camp survivor, Nobel Laureate, prolific writer, and tireless fighter for human rights Elie Wiesel has died. From his obituary at the Jerusalem Journal:

Wiesel was a hollow-eyed 16-year-old when he emerged from the newly liberated Buchenwald concentration camp in 1945. He had been orphaned by the Nazis and their identification number, A-7713, was tattooed on his arm as a physical manifestation of his broken faith and the nightmares that would haunt him throughout his life.

Wiesel and his family had first been taken by the Nazis from the village of Sighetu Marmatiei in the Transylvania region of Romania to Auschwitz, where his mother and one of his sisters died.Wiesel and his father, Shlomo, ended up in Buchenwald, where Shlomo died. In “Night” Wieselwrote of his shame at lying silently in his bunk while his father was beaten nearby.

After the war Wiesel made his way to France, studied at the Sorbonne and by 19 had become a journalist. He pondered suicide and never wrote of or discussed his Holocaust experience until 10 years after the war as a part of a vow to himself. He was 27 years old in 1955 when “Night” was published in Yiddish, and Wiesel would later rewrite it for a world audience.

“Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed …,” Wiesel wrote. “Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live.”

It is utterly sobering to be reminded of what so many like Wiesel endured. And not just endured, but miraculously lived to tell, spending the remainder of his days confronting evil for the sake of righteousness.

He was often described as somber. An old friend, Chicago professor Irving Abrahamson, once said of him: “I’ve never seen Elie give a belly laugh. He’ll chuckle, he’ll smile, there’ll be a twinkle in his eye. But never a laugh from within.”

As his burden of pain and sorrow is lifted in passing, may he be surprised by laughter finally unloosed from the deepest reaches of his soul.

–Dana

Bill Clinton And Loretta Lynch: We Promise To Never Meet Again During F.B.I. Investigations That Involve Us

Filed under: General — Dana @ 6:35 pm



[guest post by Dana]

It’s a lazy Saturday afternoon, so why not throw up a few of the more interesting tidbits of the day.

First, let me point out, as expected, the MSM has provided the public with pathetic excuses reasonable explanations as to why a “really social guy” like Bill Clinton would meet with the Attorney General during an official F.B.I. investigation into his wife’s use of a home server and the Clinton Foundation, in which he is a key player.

And, in case you missed it, Bill Clinton, through his spokesman, said that if he had a do-over, he would not meet with Lynch because of how others might view it. Loretta Lynch also assured the public that if she had to do it again, she would not meet with that “really social guy” because she understands how their innocent meeting has cast a shadow over the investigation. And Hillary Clinton has echoed both Bill and Lynch: “Obviously, no one wants to see any untoward conclusions drawn, and they said they would not do it again.” So, nothing to see, no impropriety, no conflict of interest, and certainly no violation of the Dept. of Justice Ethics Regulations. So get off your judgey high horses, people, because they have obviously learned their lesson.

Amusingly, after giving a voluntary interview with the F.B.I. this morning, we learn that Hillary Clinton gets her news just like our current president. It’s a Democrat thing:

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Also, there are whispers that things are proceeding as planned going to be coming up roses for Hillary:

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And look who simply couldn’t resist:

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Tomorrow morning, the talking heads will provide us with their insightful clarity into this latest Democratic scandal unfortunate misunderstanding.

–Dana


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