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May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

Emily Alpert: Recession dragged down birth rates for less-educated women
Morgan Housel: The deep downside of home ownership

Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

Heidi McIndoo, M.S., R.D.: Meatless 'meat' can have its own set of problems

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate! This must-try appetizer is delicate yet has depth of flavor: Corn-Leek Cakes with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

Mona Charen: Hawking's Moral Calculus: The man and the movement he embraces
Morgan Housel: The biggest retirement myth ever told

Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A sweet-hot meal: Pear salsa spices up salmon

May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility

May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage
Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

Kimberly Lankford: How to track down a lost life insurance policy

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

Mediterranean diet helps beat dementia: study
Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: A sweet surprise for Mother's Day dessert

May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Halena M. Gazelka, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: What you need to know about implanted pain relief devices

Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine

Jessica Shugart: When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs

The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The celebrated chef on how high-maintenance ASPARAGUS RISOTTO need not be

April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Major Leaguers, 2013; New Movies and Comedy Show; Shalom, 'Lumpy' (Leave it to Beaver)

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on
Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

Melissa Healy: Pot in a pill: All the pain relief without the smoke

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

US man departing country arrested on terror charges
Barbara Williams: An unorthodox but growing treatment in a 9-year-old's battle against cancer

P.J. Skerrett, M.D.: How to recognize a good whole grain product

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Teen actor Jonah Bobo in New Flick: Hunky James Wolk on Mad Men; Erich Segal's Daughter Writes Prize-Winning Jewish Novel

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: 'Noodles,' Asian style is a carb sub, sure. But they are also amazingly delicious and colorful

April 19, 2013

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: When violence seems the only answer

Caroline B. Glick: Why Obama's visit to Israel had no impact on public opinion or government policy

Morgan Housel: Gold collapse: The start of something big?
Harvard Health Letters: Can you die of a broken heart?

Pete Spotts: Livable super-Earths? Two candidates among Kepler's latest finds

Nora Schultz: Oxytocin helps beat booze cravings

The Kosher Gourmet by Carole Kotkin: Middle Eastern cuisine meets Italian delicious with this lentil and eggplant pastitsio

April 17, 2013

Shira Rubin: Too much of a good thing? 'Palestinians' realize downside of foreign aid boom

Geoffrey Mohan: Can computers decode dreams? Researchers take a first step

Morgan Housel: BAD NEWS: EVERYONE IS RIGHT!
Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D.: 6 heart-healthy eating tips help cut saturated fat but not taste

Michael Craig Miller, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Told your child has sensory processing disorder? Seek a second opinion

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Corn and Curry Add Zing to Chilled Soup

April 15, 2013

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The Death of Education?

Kristen Chick: Egyptian Christians respond with harsh words to attack -- rocks, Molotov cocktails, and gunfire -- against main cathedral

Marcy Darnovsky and Karuna Jaggar: High Court to decide if you should own your DNA
Howard LaFranchi: US bracing for more Russian blowback after taking action against 18 more human rights violators

Kristin Ohlson : The loneliest fight

The Kosher Gourmet by Dana Velden: A tasty, rich dish that hints at spring's arrival while still anchored in a favorite winter staple


Jewish World Review Jan. 30, 2006 / 30 Teves, 5766

Lay off Pombo

By Debra J. Saunders

Debra J. Saunders
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | If the scandal involving super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff — who pleaded guilty to scamming clients, conspiring to bribe a member of Congress and tax evasion — doesn't hurt Republicans during the 2006 elections, it will be because voters have figured out that Democratic leaders don't really care about ethics.


Consider how the left has targeted Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., in the Abramoff scandal. This month, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called for an ethics investigation of Pombo and Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif., while admitting she couldn't cite a single fact as to why a probe is needed.


Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named Pombo one of the "13 most corrupt members of Congress." Its list targets 11 Repubs, some of whom are clearly dirty — Rep. Duke Cunningham, who pleaded guilty to taking bribes, and Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio, who is knee-deep in the Abramoff plea agreement. Other Republicans, however, seem guilty mostly of being targeted by Democrats for defeat in 2006. Take the prim Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa. He is cited — get this — because his kids attend a Pennsylvania charter school (instead of a school in Virginia) and because he supported legislation to clarify the mission of the National Weather Service after a group gave his campaign $2,000. Oooooooo. (CREW's Melanie Sloan did not get back to me by my deadline.)


That's chump change, and that distracts from the real corruption in Washington and in the GOP. Go after Tom DeLay for his luxury golf travel — now known to have been on Abramoff's dime. Stories linking Doolittle with Abramoff and other big donors make me want to know more.


But Pombo? Since 1999, the Center for Responsive Politics found, Pombo received $40,500 from Abramoff or his client tribes. The center also found that Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., received $40,980 from Abramoff tribes — but Pelosi and CREW aren't calling Murray corrupt.


"I've read that I was one of his closest allies in the House," Pombo told me over coffee last week. "I know that I've met him three times. I may have met him another time or two."


Pombo knows why Democrats don't like him. He's chairman of the House Resources Committee, and he has promoted opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. Now, since the Dems have failed to unseat him in a fair fight on issues, they're trolling in the muck and trying to tie Pombo to Abramoff.


The Contra Costa Times took an exhaustive look at the charges hurled at Pombo. The paper reported how Pombo used his clout, at times excessively — take taxpayer-funded pro-Bush mailers he sent out to snowmobile owners in battleground states before the 2004 election — but there is no smoking gun.


Do I have issues with him? Yes. As I told Pombo, some of his decisions emit the odor of having hobnobbed in D.C. for too long. Pombo's wife has worked as a paid fund-raiser for his committee, and his brother as a treasurer. He told me: "I have had family on the payroll from the very beginning. When no one else would take my campaign, my brother left his job ... and worked for me."


As Pombo sees it, they are paid a fair wage — an average of $48,000 a year for his wife, $43,255 for his brother, according to the Contra Costa Times — and "I can trust them." Where he sees only $40-something, I think voters may see nepotism. Pombo should understand that it looks bad.


Ditto Steve Ding, who also makes more than $150,000 as chief of staff for the Resources committee, but also makes money as Pombo's congressional chief of staff and on the side working for GOP candidates. It's odd for a committee chief of staff to live outside of the Beltway and let taxpayers foot the bill — some $30,000 a year — when he visits the Capitol.


Pombo believes it's better to get committee staff out of Washington. He wants his aides to live in "the real world." Ding noted that his travel is covered by an operating budget. It doesn't cost extra, and it is customary for taxpayers to fund staffers' travel either to or from a member's district.


Cunningham's graft netted him a 19th-century Louis-Philippe commode. DeLay traveled and golfed in high style on Abramoff's dime, as he conveniently turned against a bill to curb Internet gambling. Pombo is made of different stuff. His idea of a good vacation is taking his family to Yellowstone in an RV.


As for Nancy Pelosi, she has shown that corruption doesn't bother her nearly as much as losing House seats. As long as she picks on Pombo, not the real Abramoff cronies, she deserves to lose more.

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