StocktonAfterClass

Send us Fan Mail This was an orientation lecture in my course on Religion and Politics in 2020. It does have a few of those classroom comments ("don't forget to turn in your papers" sort of things), but otherwise it has quite a bit of information about sometimes confusing topics.  Don't forget to check out my recent podcasts on Leo XIII and my own candidacy for pope.  I did not...

Send us Fan Mail Are you interested in why the new pope took the name of an old pope?  Is he sending us a message?   Leo XIII was a modernizing pope whose most famous encyclical (1891) was called Rerum Novarum (New Things).  This is a class lecture that I delivered on that encyclical.  I discussed key passages and why it was so important.  ps.  Don't miss my last podcast on why I am running f...

Send us Fan Mail Back in 2013, when Pope Benedict stepped down, I was concerned for the future of the Church and threw my hat into the ring.  I am not sure how many votes I got but the vigorous insistence of the Vatican that they had never heard of me convinced me that my impact was real.  There were even rumors that my candidacy had been received better than some had expected.  At that point I th...

Send us Fan Mail My former student, Amine Zreikh, contacted me about an archive of deeds from pre-1948 Palestine, and the effort to create a site where those could be stored.  I conducted three interviews on this project.  One with Zreikh and two are with Adel Bsesio, the custodian  of those documents.  He tells how he created the site and how researchers and other interested people can have acces...

Send us Fan Mail This is a duplicate n interview with Adel Bsesio regarding the Bsesio family deeds and documents, now an archive.   This family had extensive holdings in southern Palestine that were confiscated by the Israelis in 1948.  They are now housed in an archive avilable at the Columbia University library.   This is a fascinating story.  Sorry I posted this twice. 

Send us Fan Mail This is interview three on this remarkable project.  The frist interview was with Amine Zreikh who made me familiar with this historical cache of documents -- deeds, maps, contracts, etc.  Adel Bsesio is the posessor of his family archive.  It is now in an archive in Columbia University, universally accessible to anyone who wants to use it for research or educational purposes.  Th...

Send us Fan Mail Just after being released from the hospital, where he nearly died, the Pope issues a pastoral letter to the American Bishops.  He urged them to focus upon Christian principles, and to support immigrants as they face the actions of the Trump administration (which they did not identify by name).  He said that a policy not rooted in proper values will start badly and end badly.  This...

Send us Fan Mail There is a new book on the bombing of the Marine Barracks in Beirut in 1983.  241 people were killed as they slept.  It was the greatest single-day death toll for the Marines since Iwo Jima.  The decision to put these Marines in Lebanon in the middle of a civil war was veery controversial.  The Joint Chiefs and the National Security Council were on opposite sides.    Jane and I at...

Send us Fan Mail This is an IDF assessment of what happened on October 7, 2023, what went wrong, and why.  It is a military report, not a political assessment, but it is very interesting. 

Send us Fan Mail My colleagues and I held a Faculty Forum when the Ukraine War started.  It was done soon after Russia grabbed some  provinces and the Crimean peninsula in 2014.  This is my contribution.  I listened to it when the current war started and found it still worth the time.  With the current confrontation, and the Trump shift towards Russia, it may be of interest to see some of the long...

Send us Fan Mail President Trump has proposed annexing Gaza, clearing it of Palestinians, and turning it into a resort area.  He seems to be deadly serious.  This is a discussion of what would be involved in such a development.  Note:  There was a slight disconnect with the sound.  After the introductory music, you may have to turn up your volume.   Also a Glitch:  When I was discussing a public o...

Send us Fan Mail After struggling for three months to try to figure out why Kamala lost to Trump, I finally figured it out.  Is this explanation too simple, or is it exactly on target?  If you are willing to devote 20 some minutes of you life, you can judge for yourself.  

Send us Fan Mail The Mara-Lago Classified Documents Case seemed to me to be the strongest of all the cases against Trump.  Those were highly sensitive documents.  Some were so sensitive that even their classifications were classified.  As a private citizen Trump had no right to any of those.  Moreover, he had tried to hide them, had urged others to deny they were there, and and had lied to the FBI...

Send us Fan Mail When Jimmy Carter published this book in 2006 he was subjected to a barrage of vilification.  As we look back on this book today, we might well ask ourselves, "What was the problem?"  In fact, as we looked at the book when it was published, we might ask the same question.  The problem, it seems to me,  was that Carter was challenging the pro-Israeli narrative which prese...

Send us Fan Mail Jane and I were on our way from Mobile (where her family had originated) to Andersonville,  the terrible Confederate prison camp where both of us had lost relatives.  She realized that we would be very close to Plains.  Not only that, Jimmy would be teaching Sunday School that day.  We went to that service and watched a Baptist Deacon teach a lesson on the diseased woman that Jesu...

Send us Fan Mail I have visited Syria several times, running or participating in academic programs.  These are my reflections.   I noticed a couple of glitches along the way, but nothing that will not be obvious to you.  (If the Israelis withdrew from the Golan, they would be replaced by Syrians, not Israelis.  Sorry for that).   Twice I discussed maps.  One was of Syria, the other of what is comm...

Send us Fan Mail Back in 2009 Jonathan Goldstein wrote an entertaining book entitled "Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bible!"  For those looking for orthodox teaching, it might veer a bit off base.  But for those looking for 15 minutes of entertainment, maybe you will like this.  

Send us Fan Mail This is a different type of podcast.  It is not me explaining someting to you.  It is my former student, now an immigration attorney, explaining something to me.  Shahad Atiya has practiced law for several years.  She knows the ins and outs and how the system actually works.  Temporary Protected Status is an exceptionally important policy, relevant to people whose home country has...

Send us Fan Mail Well, I'm feeling good about StocktonAfterClass.  We just passed 60,000 downloads.  That is not many compared with media Superstars but to me it is an impressive number.  And you are from over 130 different countries.   I am not told anything about any of you except where you live but in the past when I have had zoom sessions, I have found those who checked in to be very inte...

Send us Fan Mail In late November, 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his Defense minister Gallant.  Also for one of the remaining Hamas  leaders the Israelis had not assassinated.  This is different from the Genocide Accusation before the International Court of Justice.  Note:  The U.S. is not a signatory of this court so we are not obligated to obey i...

Send us Fan Mail I can hardly read this address without getting emotional.  Lincoln believed God was stretching out America's affliction because we as a nation had allowed grievous injustice in our land. Our punishment was a protracted Civil War that took 700,000 lives.   Or to borrow from the great British song, The Streets of London How can you tell me you're lonely And that for you, t...

Send us Fan Mail Bernie was a legendary professor.  He was the senior political scientist when I was hired and was beloved by his students.  Bernie was famous for his anecdotes into how the political system actually worked.  And for his jokes, one of which got him in trouble.  He had been the Comptroller of the City of Detroit under the famous Jerry Cavanaugh during the Detroit Riot of 1967.  He w...

Send us Fan Mail This is posted October 31, 2024, just before the Presidential Election.  This is the most intense and polarizing election in my memory.  It is also the closest election since 1960 when Nixon and Kennedy went down to the wire.  I have never revealed my vote preference before, but this is not a time for caution.   Note  This is not an endorsement but a discussion. 

Send us Fan Mail For those of you who have never had the privilege of having a Palestinian friend, this memoir will give you one.  Terry grew up in Ramalla, a famous city about 9 miles north of Jerusalem.  Hers was a life filled with parents, grandparents, sisters, and friends.  Terry was a tomboy.  How could she leave for church on Sunday morning in her sparkling dress and arrive at church, two b...

Send us Fan Mail Several students and friends asked me to discuss Hezbollah.  I did not feel I was the best person to do this, but agreed to share what insights I had.  I hope you find this podcast useful.   I have a Hezbollah flag in my attic.  A student gave it to me in 2000 when Hezbollah, under the leadership of Hasan Nasrallah,  beat the IDF after  a deadly 18 year-long fist fight.   It was t...