This is the time of year for lists, everything from the best movies of the year, the top news stories of the year, best political quotes, etc. The list that few if any outlets report is the one of stories that were important and should have received wide-spread coverage, but were ignored by the mainstream media. Reports that would show the other side of an issue, and the lack of reporting is just more evidence that the mainstream media is in the tank for the progressive movement. What follows are my picks for the ten most important under-reported political stories that in 2011. more

I’m obsessed with reading… a great book, an interesting magazine, my favorite newspapers, comics, emails, Facebook updates and tweets. When I was a kid I read cereal boxes, just to keep busy while enjoying breakfast. There were puzzles on the back, things to send away for or even a pop single to cut out and play on the record player (does anyone remember that? I once got an Archies song). Lately I’ve gotten into reading food labels because I’m also obsessed with eating well. more

Dear Aviva, I will not give out my age or my gender. I merely would like to put out there that I feel under-appreciated and unloved. -Itty-Bitty more

It has been just over a week since Orthodox Jewish reggae star Matisyahu, tweeted a photo of his newly-shaved face, bare of his trademark beard and peyos along with a message that he is changing his image. more

Sometimes, things seem so obvious you start to wonder why you are the only one who seems to get it. Last week, Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich got it, and it was nice to realize we are not alone. more

There are a number of mitzvoth which appear in the Torah multiple times: Shabbat, holidays, kosher animals, Shmittah (Sabbatical year), Eved Ivri (Hebrew servant), not to “cook a kid in its mother’s milk.” Sometimes there are differences in the repetition, and the repetition usually serves a purpose. more

For those of you that can remember life before blogs, you may also remember that people used to publish newsletters on all topics. Forty years ago, Ron Paul launched a conservative newsletter. His newsletters were chock-filled with hateful slurs, some signed by Paul, all appearing in his publication. What was written in those newsletters was nothing short of disgusting. more

Letters to the editor more

When Israeli naval commandos intercepted the “Gaza Freedom Flotilla” in May 2010, worldwide condemnation was swift. Reacting to the news, 5WPR executive Ronn Torossian called his contacts at the Israeli Ministry of foreign affairs. “Public relations shakes minds and builds brands. It took two days for the IDF to release a video of the raid in a world of blogging and tweeting,” Torossian said. “Israel has to do more to help itself.” more

I begin this essay with the following little known episode that is truly a Chanukah themed saga. Rabbi Elchanan Samet of Yeshivat Har Etzion in his study on the Book of Psalms writes, “In Natan Sharansky’s book, “Fear No Evil” [Public Affairs, 1998], the book of Tehillim plays an important role in the account of the difficult years of his imprisonment until his release.” more