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"Luke Ford reports all of the 'juicy' quotes, and has been doing it for years." (Marc B. Shapiro)
"This guy knows all the gossip, the ins and outs, the lashon hara of the Orthodox world. He’s an [expert] in... all the inner workings of the Orthodox world." (Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff) LATEST POSTS:
- Robert Putnam: The Man Who Counted What America Lost
- W. Bradford Wilcox: The Sociologist Who Tells America to Get Married
- Peter Moskos: The Cop Who Talks to People
- Julius Krein
- Ryan Burge: The Numbers Man in the Empty Church
- Emily Oster: The Economist in the Delivery Room
- The Most Ridiculous Story Ever Told
- Tanner Greer
- Economist Tyler Cowen
- Richard Reeves: A Life in Institutions
- Jake Adelstein: The Reporter Who Became His Story
- Jim Goad (1961-2026)
- Moira Greyland
- Robert Oscar Lopez: The Inconvenient Witness
- Two Ledgers: Decoding the Gurus and the Price of Talk
- The Pervert’s Progress: Costin Vlad Alamariu and the Making of Bronze Age Pervert
- Curtis Yarvin: A Life Against Democracy
- Mark Helprin: Against the Current
- Mark Brandt: The Man Who Asked Who Else Is Prejudiced
- John T. Jost: The Psychologist of Acquiescence
BEST POSTS:
- * The Enlightenment Wasn’t Enlightened (6-23-26)
* Mr. Burge Draws The Line (6-23-26)
* 'Improving on Democracy' (6-17-26)
* People Leak To People Who Are Fun (6-11-26)
* Why Does Australia Produce So Many Great Journalists? (6-11-26)
* Steve Wynn and the Press: Power, Litigation, and the Contest Over Las Vegas (6-3-26)
* Sheldon Adelson and the Journalists (6-3-26)
* The Vigilant Animal: Thinkers Who Reject the Myth of Human Gullibility (6-2-26)
* The Cost of Refusing the Misunderstanding Myth (6-2-26)
* Show Me How It Travels (6-2-26)
* The Norm Explainers (6-2-26)
* Centering Marginalized Voices (6-1-26)
* What would it look like if the Washington Post put its reader first? (6-1-26)
* What would it look like if the Financial Times put its reader first? (6-1-26)
* What It Would Mean for the Los Angeles Times to Put the Reader First? (6-1-26)
* What It Would Mean for The New York Times to Put the Reader First? (6-1-26)
* Why Wembanyama Lives on the Perimeter (5-31-26)
* The Emotional Palettes Of San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco & Sacramento (5-27-26)
* The Administrative Capital: Sacramento Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* San Diego - The Quiet Republic (5-27-26)
* The Quiet Bar: San Diego Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* SF v LA Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* Why Talent Travels Poorly Between San Francisco and Los Angeles (5-27-26)
* San Francisco and Los Angeles as Rival Models of Urban Access (5-27-26)
* Social Cliques in New York, 2026 (5-25-26)
* Social Cliques in San Francisco, 2026 (5-25-26)
* The Rival Courts of Washington (5-25-26)
* The City of Private Rooms (5-25-26)
Category Archives: Abuse
Jewish Community Watch Keeps An Eye On Predators
Almost all of the significant efforts against child abuse in the Jewish community have come from the laity, not the rabbis. Assistant Los Angeles District Attorney Benny Forer writes: Dear Jewish Community Watch, I am writing this letter to express … Continue reading
Posted in Abuse
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My Fear Of Abandonment
How do you react when people start backing away? I tend to freak out. Even if I make no outward sign of being traumatized, my thinking becomes obsessed with solely the looming abandonment. My work and writing suffer. I can’t … Continue reading
Posted in Abandonment, Abuse, Personal
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An Open Letter To R. Manis Friedman
JewishJournal.com reports: Rabbi Manis Friedman, a prominent rabbi from the Hasidic Chabad Lubavitch movement who appeared in a video recently posted on YouTube minimizing the harm caused by sexual molestation, has apologized for what he called his “completely inappropriate use … Continue reading
Death Row Inmate Michael Flinner
From NCTimes.com, Oct. 23, 2003: EL CAJON – A landscaper who took out a $500,000 insurance policy on his fiancee and an ex-employee he hired to kill her were convicted today of murder and special circumstances that could lead to … Continue reading
Child Molester Posters All Over LINK
There are posters all over the LINK shul today warning about some alleged child molester named “Eli XXXXX”, and then listing “lukeford.com” as the source for more information. I haven’t had anything to do with lukeford.com since 2001 and I … Continue reading
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How many plooks till you’re out?
I would never have a rabbi who’s once committed adultery, once slipped with a congregant, once molested a child. Once and you’re out. You should go sell insurance. But Orthodox Judaism tends to be forgiving. Molest kids, get arrested for … Continue reading
How Come You Never See A Hispanic Panhandler?
How come you never see Latinos or Asians begging for money on the streets? Do these groups have less mental illness and crippling addiction than the norm? Or do these groups simply take better care of their own? When I … Continue reading
Sexual Predators At AA Meetings
I’ve noticed that many addicts, be it to alcohol or drugs or porn, can get sober through 12-step meetings but turn quickly into sexual predators when given half a chance. There’s no good thing that can’t be perverted. Not Orthodox … Continue reading
Posted in Abuse, Addiction
Tagged aa meetings, orthodox judaism, sexual predators, smoking cigarettes, step meetings, trench coats
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14yo Los Angeles Yeshiva Student Pleads Guilty To Raping His Younger Sisters
The kid took the plea deal just before the case went to trial. The kids at yeshiva knew about this abuse months before the adults found out.
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Rubashkin Revenge: Ethical Certificates at Center of Dispute
The Jewish Journal reports: About eight months ago, when Katsuji Tanabe agreed to display the Tav HaYosher certificate in the window of his one-year-old restaurant on Pico Boulevard, the head chef and owner of Mexikosher knew that the “ethical seal,” … Continue reading
Posted in Abuse, Chabad, R. Shmuly Yanklowitz
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