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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Jan. 13, 2005
/ 3 Shevat, 5765
Keeping the score on Gonzales
By
Ruben Navarrette Jr.
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Did you catch the score from the Senate confirmation hearing on Alberto Gonzales? Latinos 1, Liberals 0. I say that because my liberal friends were hoping that Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee would treat Gonzales like a punching bag, and that didn't happen. And now the Harvard Law School graduate and son of farmworkers appears ready to become the nation's first Latino attorney general.
A few prominent Democrats went through the motions. They read strongly worded statements and grimaced for the cameras. But in the end, they pulled as many punches as they threw.
This will disappoint such left-leaning organizations as People for the American Way and the American Civil Liberties Union who have been gunning for Gonzales since long before his nomination. For several weeks, I've been getting e-mails from these outfits asking me to urge Senate Democrats to "scrutinize" (read: trash) the Gonzales nomination.
In fact, People for the American Way sent out a news release opposing the nomination on Jan. 4 two days before Gonzales appeared before the Senate. Doesn't sound like the American way.
Liberals say with a straight face that the reason they have opposed Gonzales early and often is that they hold him responsible for the torture of prisoners in the war on terror.
Not fair. Yes, according to memorandums uncovered by news agencies, lawyers in the administration at least as early as January 2002 were concocting legal justifications on how far U.S. military officers could go in detaining and interrogating prisoners.
But it's also clear that this campaign started in the Justice Department, where a staff attorney in a Jan. 9, 2002, memo drafted legal arguments to keep U.S. officials from being charged with war crimes as they interrogated prisoners. Gonzales got involved a couple weeks later when, as White House counsel, he advised President Bush that the Justice Department's reasoning was solid and suggested that the prisoner of war provisions of the Geneva Conventions didn't apply to Taliban and al Qaeda detainees.
Personally, I think that was a bad decision, but it hardly makes Gonzales responsible for everything that occurred from there. The memos show that there were at least five entities vying to have a say about the treatment of prisoners the Pentagon, Justice Department, CIA, White House and State Department. President Bush was getting plenty of advice, but the final say about what would be permissible in interrogating prisoners was the president's alone.
Besides, no matter what the lawyers said or when they said it, I'm not convinced that any of this had much to do with why the goons on the night shift at Abu Ghraib staged their horrific frat party. That was the military's mess from start to finish, and it's more likely that it happened because of a lack of leadership on the ground than because of something lawyers said half a world away.
Liberals aren't stupid. They must know this. Which brings us to the real reason that they're conducting this witch-hunt against Gonzales. It isn't all that different from the reasons that Democrats kept Honduran-born, Harvard- educated Miguel Estrada off the federal appeals court. Both men were nominated by a Republican and owe nothing to the Democratic Party. That makes them a target for liberals, who are only interested in minorities succeeding if they can claim the credit.
It doesn't help endear Gonzales to the left that he also has been mentioned as someone who may yet be nominated to become the first Mexican American on the Supreme Court. Were that barrier to fall with the credit going to a Republican president the Democratic Party would lose its grip on the nation's largest minority. The stakes couldn't be higher.
And yet Senate Democrats went soft on Gonzales. They had no choice.
They got the message. It was delivered in person by two other Democrats: new Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado, who sat at Gonzales' side, and Hector Flores, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, who sat just a few rows behind. Both were there to show their support for the Gonzales nomination, and both were one assumes delighted at the idea of a Latino attorney general.
The message was simple, and it was offered up on behalf of a large portion of the Latino community: "Hurt him, and we'll hurt you."
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01/10/04: Parents on Strike
© 2005 WPWG
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