Weekend Reads 11/10/18

Essen 2018: The best board games from the biggest board game con

It’s a heaving, sprawling, noisy celebration of analogue gaming, and with thousands of new products on show, it’s impossible to do more than scratch the surface of what’s on offer. Once you set foot in the cavernous Messe Essen venue, you quickly realize that no matter how meticulously you’ve planned your visit, it all counts for nothing; it’s all about spotting empty spaces at demo tables and leaping at them before anyone else.

Trump’s rhetorical style again adds scrutiny to power of words

From the opening moment of his presidential campaign in 2015, Mr. Trump has prided himself on his practice of stirring up hornet’s nests. The mockery, the winking calls to violence, the provocative policy moves, the incendiary language seen by critics as fear-mongering – these are not gaffes. They’re tools with an eye toward an end: winning.

Divided by Party, United in Spirit

Take just one horrific example, the murderous rampage by a neo-Nazi at a Pittsburgh synagogue ten days ago. It’s hard to think of a more tragic manifestation of the hate currently infecting the political landscape.

Yet before we surrender to despair, we should also look at the response, the outpouring of support that followed. Across the country, Americans, regardless of their politics or religion, rushed to offer prayers and more-tangible types of support. More than $1 million was donated within a week to help the families of the victims. In testimony to interfaith unity, Pittsburgh’s small Muslim community contributed more than $120,000 in just three days. And tens of thousands of Christians, Muslims, and others joined Jews for a 'Show Up for Shabbat' demonstration of solidarity. That’s the real America.