Lawrence (Laurie) Baron, now retired, served as the Nasatir Professor of Modern Jewish History at San Diego State University. He served from 1988 to 2006 as director of SDSU’s Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies. He was the founder in 1995 of the Western Jewish Studies Association.
He writes two satire columns for San Diego Jewish World: “Humoring the Headlines” under his byline, and “Hounding the Headlines,” under the byline of his dog Elona.
Books to his credit, available on Amazon, include:
Projecting the Holocaust into the Present: The Changing Focus of Contemporary Holocaust Cinema
The Modern Jewish Experience in World Cinema
The eclectic anarchism of Erich Muhsam (Men & movements in the history & philosophy of anarchism)
His most recent articles are:
“Making Room for the Jews: The House I Live In (1945),” AJS Perspectives, Summer 2023, 86-88.
“The Revolt of Job: Salvaging the Lost World of Rural Hungarian Hasidim,” Journal of Jewish Identities, 16:1-2 (January/July 2023), 181-198.
“Persistent Parallels, Resistant Particularities: Holocaust Analogies and Avoidance in Armenian Genocide Centennial Cinema, in Armenian and Jewish Experience between Expulsion and Destruction, ed. Sarah M. Ross and Regina Randhofer (Berlin: De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2021), 267-296.
“The Pioneering American Jewish Women Directors from Elaine May to Claudia Weill,” Jews and Gender (Studies in Jewish Civilization), ed. Leonard Greenspoon (W. Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 2021), 217-243.
Humoring the Headlines: Weinergate By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO−The bad news is that Hillary Clinton emails from her tenure as Secretary of State were found on Anthony Weiner’s laptop. The good news is that they were all marked “Confidential” by Weiner and forwarded to underage girls. * The bad news is that the FBI is […]
Humoring the headlines: October 31, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USABy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — I was born in 1947. When I was growing up on the north side of Chicago, I had no inkling that the Chicago Cubs had played in a World Series two years earlier, let alone that the last time they won the Series was in 1908. All I knew
The Third Presidential Debate-TGIO By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO─ Trump supporters were impressed with how much their candidate had matured since the second debate. He managed not to stalk Hillary Clinton when she was speaking, waited nearly thirty minutes before interrupting her, and did not label her the devil. * Hillary Clinton supported legal abortion
Humoring the headlines: October 20, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireThe saga of King Schlong By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO─ Donald Trump recently tweeted: “It is so nice that the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to.” Funny, I had never noticed that he had restrained himself during his campaign for president. After reading
Humoring the headlines: October 13, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireThe Second Presidential Berate By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO─ Looming over the debate was the Access Hollywood audiotape of Donald Trump bragging about his sexual harassment of beautiful women. Although the press dubbed this revelation the October surprise, it really was the October reprise. Many quotes of Donald sexually objectifying women before and during the
Humoring the headlines: October 10, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USAUnspoken Thoughts During The Vice Presidential Debate By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO─ “Speak softly and bury your social conservativism.” Mike Pence * “The only thing sure in life for Trump is wealth and no taxes.” Tim Kaine * “Yes, I’m at his beck and call. But only Trump can build a wall.” Mike Pence
Humoring the headlines: October 6, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireIf presidential candidates repented their sins By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO─ Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Jews ask forgiveness for the sins they have committed against others during the past year. Since Clinton and Trump have Jewish sons-in-laws and Trump has a Jewish daughter, they have decided to observe this tradition. * Trump: I
Humoring the headlines: October 2, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireThe First Presidential Debate By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO─ Trump prided himself for not studying the issues or participating in mock debates to prepare for debating Hillary Clinton. While that may not be his style, it quickly became apparent that he should have taken a crash course in impulse control. * Donald Trump practiced birther
Humoring the headlines: September 27, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USABy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO─Since Donald Trump believes he resolved the controversy over where President Obama was born, he approached “the Boss” to write a song about his achievement. Springsteen refused because he can’t forgive the Donald for what he did to Atlantic City. Instead, Kellyanne Conway commissioned Ted Nugent to compose new lyrics to the
Humoring the headlines: September 20, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO─ Donald Trump made an impromptu visit to Flint, Michigan to symbolize his concern over the lead pollution of the city’s water supply. Invited to speak at a local church, he launched into an attack on Hillary Clinton which was interrupted and stopped by the pastor. His sheepish response was caught
Humoring the headlines: September 16, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USASAN DIEGO─ Last week the Libertarian Party candidate for President Gary Johnson was asked what he thought the United States should do about Aleppo. After initially not recognizing what Aleppo was, he guessed the interviewer was referring to the fifth Marx Brother. * Hillary Clinton insulted Donald Trump’s supporters by claiming that half of them
Humoring the headlines: September 12, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO─ This week Donald Trump released a list of 88 former generals and admirals who are endorsing him. Hillary Clinton responded by releasing a list of 95 generals and admirals who support her. To top this, Donald Trump has released a new list of military officers backing him. It includes Captain
Humoring the Headlines: September 9, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Laurie Baron Dear the Donald, Ever since you descended down the escalator and warned us about the Mexicans, I have been one of your most loyal supporters. But lately I wonder if you are betraying your ideals. Why did you visit the enemy south of our border? Did the President of Mexico sell you
Humoring the headlines: September 5, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO─ While Donald Trump was purportedly softening, Anthony Weiner was hardening. Trump insinuated that Weiner’s compulsive sexting cast suspicion on Hillary’s judgment because Weiner might have been reading classified information allegedly sent by Hillary to his wife Huma Abedin. Alternative explanations are that Weiner is just a schmuck or that
Humoring the headlines: September 1, 2016 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire