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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
Feb. 10, 2005
/ 1 Adar I, 5765
Gonzales' other position
By
Ruben Navarrette Jr.
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
As a Mexican-American who is thrilled at the sight of other Latinos achieving great heights, I am busting with pride over the incredible odyssey of Alberto Gonzales.
Now that he has become the nation's first Latino attorney general, Gonzales has earned his place in the history books and, no doubt, in the hearts of millions of Latinos.
But, given everything I heard during his confirmation, I'm also concerned. That's because, for me, the most important job of any government lawyer is the protection of individuals' civil rights and civil liberties. Given that Gonzales — in his written responses to questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee — asserted that the United States has the right to hold people indefinitely without charging them of a crime and transport them to countries that practice torture, it doesn't appear that the new attorney general agrees with me.
But nor do I agree with those on the left who have tried to portray Gonzales as a monster. One reader wrote me: "I cannot perceive of how the appointment of the first sadistic despotic Latino attorney general will serve the interests of the Mexican-American community."
Sadistic? Despotic? Rhetoric like that is over the top. Gonzales is no monster. He's just a public official who has made some mistakes in judgment. His critics could have said that and left it there. But they didn't. Instead, they tried to make it seem as if Gonzales was directly responsible for the military intelligence officers and National Guard flunkies who tortured and humiliated Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib. He wasn't.
The fact that Gonzales is Latino only made him more of a target for Democrats. They must realize by now that they can't sit around and do nothing while Bush creates a repository of good will with the nation's largest minority. They have to fight back.
The Gonzales appointment adds to the repository. Why else would Henry Cisneros, lifelong Democrat and former Cabinet official in the Clinton administration, have publicly urged senators to confirm Gonzales?
You could call it ethnic politics. That's not exactly new in America. Every time this country makes room at the table for someone with your background, you feel as if there's a place for you as well. It's why so many Jewish voters were eager to cast their ballots for a Democratic ticket that offered Joe Lieberman as a candidate for vice president in 2000.
And it's one more reason that Gonzales carries such a heavy burden — not just to the man who appointed him and the country that produced him, but to the Latino community that takes inspiration from him.
Here you have someone whose life story only keeps getting better: the son of farm workers, graduate of Rice University and Harvard Law School, partner in a top Houston law firm, former Texas secretary of state, and former justice on the Texas Supreme Court, former White House counsel and now attorney general. Anyone can make bad decisions or errors in judgment. But Gonzales must hold himself to a higher standard and steer clear of anything that could tarnish his reputation in the eyes of Latinos and of all Americans.
Yet he came close to doing that when, as White House counsel, he went along with giving government a blank check after 9/11 to do whatever it wants to whomever it wants for as long as it wants to do it while fighting the war on terror.
One result of that philosophy was that many Muslim-Americans were harassed, rounded up, secretly detained, abused in federal detention facilities and denied their right to due process. Some were even declared "enemy combatants" so that the government didn't have to afford the rights due them under either the Constitution or the Geneva Conventions.
Gonzales should never have signed off on that treatment. Yet in his written responses to the Senate Judiciary Committee, he did just that.
And, in his new job, he should make amends. He may be preparing to do that. On his first day at the Justice Department, he told his staff that they would combat terrorism "in a way that's consistent with our values."
Alberto Gonzales has always been a team player. Now, as the nation's top law enforcement officer, he needs to be more than that. He needs to be the conscience of the administration. As often as necessary, he needs to remind his colleagues — and, for that matter the rest of the country — that in order to keep America strong, we have to protect our freedoms, not erode them. If he does that, he will have provided a real public service.
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02/08/05: Getting serious About Illegal Immigration
01/21/05: Where does the money go?
01/18/05: Latinos are own worst enemy
01/13/05: Keeping the score on Gonzales
01/10/05: Parents on Strike
© 2005 WPWG
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