Douglas Bloomfield's blog

One issue all the GOP presidential hopefuls could agree on in their Las Vegas debate this week was their opposition to the national nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, about 90 miles away from where they were trying to nuke each other's campaigns.

That reminded us of an incident in a prior campaign when the issue arose. 

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey of the American Religious Landscape is more than three years old and, because of its size and cost, won't be updated for another two years, but it remains an important reference source and worth taking a look at.

Pew Forum interviewed 35,556 American adults to compile this detailed profile,  and the result is displayed in an interactive graphic published by USA Today.

The Jewish population of Nashville, TN, has more than doubled since 2000 to approximately 10,000.  And if any of them were on the streets of their city last Tuesday night, October 11, near Vanderbilt University, for some last minute pre-Sukkot shopping they were at potential risk along with all other residents of the city.

  If you think the Daily Alert news summary published by the Conference of President of Major American Jewish Organizations leans too far to the right and you'd like to see another view of current events, take a look at the News Nosh, a bright new publication of Americans for Peace Now. 

You can read both on line or subscribe and have them sent to you daily. 

 Israel has agreed to the Mideast Quartet's latest proposal to resume negotiations without any preconditions, but the Palestinians are sticking to their demands for a settlement freeze and more before Mahmoud Abbas will sit down with Benjamin Netanyahu. 

 Meanwhile, the Netanyahu government announced new construction of Jewish housing in Gilo, just outside the Green Line, which many considered a snub of the Quartet's call for both sides to "refrain from provocative" and unilateral actions. 

The old political shibboleth "That may be what I said but it's not what I meant" could well apply to Mahmoud Abbas's UN appearance last month. He gave an impassioned speech from the podium, waiving the formal "Application of Palestine for admission to membership in the United Nations" and declaring his desire to live in peace with the State of Israel.

I was wrong.  I was one of those who criticized the Obama administration for returning a US ambassador to Syria after a five-year absence without getting any clear pro-quid-pro from Bashar Assad. It would be interpreted as a sign of weakness by the Syrians as well as Assad's Iranian allies, I wrote at the time.

Rep. Bob Turner, the newly minted Republican congressman from New York's 9th District, is also the newest member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) chairman of the committee, praised him as "outspoken in his support for our key ally, Israel, and a strong opponent of the unilateral Palestinian scheme to seize statehood at the United Nations."

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is in Israel this week to deliver some critical messages -- we've got your back covered so don't be afraid to make peace, and don't attack Iran.

As a writer I am always looking to learn new words that will show my readers I am erudite (knowledgeable) and justify my parents' investment in my college education.