Here, courtesy of the Washington Post, is the transcript of President Barack Obama’s eulogy for Clementa Pinckney, murdered on June 17, 2015. It’s President Obama at his finest!

A Former Israeli Ambassador Takes Aim at Obama—and American Jewry by Jeffrey Goldberg for The Atlantic is yet another piece about Ambassador Michael Oren’s op-eds and his new book, Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide. Mr. Goldberg is a very astute and balanced observer on Middle East issues and Israeli politics. What gave me reason to circle back to the Oren Issue are both Mr. Goldberg’s analysis and the transcript of his interview with the Ambassador. They are old friends and colleagues, and it’s a most interesting conversation.

From the Washington Post, last week, here’s The most and least lazy states in America by Roberto Ferdman and Christopher Ingraham. And from January 2014, here’s Why Is the American Dream Dead in the South? by Matthew O’Brien for The Atlantic. And the common thread? We’re a mix of people, with great differences from county to county. Yes, we talk about national traits, but much of what passes for “American” is really a bunch of averages, with lots of outliers.

Back in the day there were people who did read Playboy for the writing, and those who did often focused on the interview. Sam Merrill interviewed George Carlin in January 1982. Worth reading!

I don’t fry food. I could, I’m sure, but it’s a lot of effort and, me being me, I’d focus totally on calories, keeping things hot, not burning anything, etc. Then I saw Jalea at SeriousEats.com. Basically, it’s fried fish and seafood, topped with a chopped, tart salad of red onion, tomato, and cilantro. (Southwesterners, think pico de gallo.) Here’s a picture, and I think I’m a changed man:

Postings may be light this weekend. Happy Independence Day!