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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. 5, 2008
/ 29 Shevat 5768
A Republican victory this year could do more long-term damage to the party than a loss
By
Rod Dreher
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Here's a chipper question for my fellow conservatives as we stumble drunkenly into Super Tuesday: Would it be more depressing to wake up in the morning to learn that our next president will be a Democrat or a Republican?
Me, I don't know, but it's hard to shake the sense that four more years of GOP rule from the White House might just about kill off conservatism as a viable governing philosophy. Given the exhausted and brain-addled state of the right at the end of the Reagan Era, it's arguably better for both the country and conservatism for our side to retreat to the woods for some hard thinking and meaningful reform.
Here's the most despairing thought: that in the grand scheme of things, it's not going to matter much who wins the presidency. Why? Because it's quite possible that the economic crisis now breaking upon us is going to be beyond any politician's ability to manage, so severe that the fallout will dwarf any other issue that has preoccupied American political debate of late.
Come what may, we do seem destined to reap what we have been sowing for a very long time. We both individuals and the government have paid for our long consumption binge on credit.
The federal deficit is exploding as our politicians mortgage our liberty to overseas lenders. The national savings rate is zero percent. The average American household owes $8,000 to credit card lenders. People who took on far more debt than they should have to buy houses far bigger than they needed or could afford now face the possibility of losing them. Personal bankruptcy filings increased 40 percent from 2006 to 2007, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute, with many more forecast for 2008.
The current crisis was caused chiefly by foolish, greedy lenders and foolish, greedy borrowers thinking we could get something for nothing, and the party could last forever and by a government that stood by and did nothing because it has no more common sense or moral backbone than the rest of us.
Now, to avoid a recession caused by excessive indebtedness, Republicans and Democrats propose that we or rather, our children go further into debt with a $150 billion stimulus package. The president has instructed Americans to spend the free money to keep the economy going.
Mike Huckabee put this logic in perspective: "What we're about to do is borrow $150 billion from the Chinese" and "give it to people who will turn around and buy Chinese imports."
A credit economy depends on the confidence that money borrowed will be paid back. And that, in turn, depends on a shared moral sense, one that entails mutual obligation, a duty to be true to one's word and the self-restraint not to promise more than you can reasonably deliver.
Last Sunday's 60 Minutes gave viewers an idea of the moral collapse behind the looming economic collapse. Steve Kroft detailed the corporate greed and growth-at-any-cost pathology that led financiers to throw money at bad credit risks.
He also interviewed Matt and Stephanie Valdez, a California couple who took out a mortgage on their house, which, owing to the subsequent bursting of the housing bubble, is worth a lot less than they owe on it. Even though they can pay their monthly mortgage, they're going to walk away from it. Just like that.
Why should they feel ashamed? It's just business as corporate elites continually remind us when they abrogate moral relationships to their employees and pensioners. Honor and fidelity get in the way of profit and personal satisfaction. Confides a Texas mortgage broker who has seen reckless irresponsibility from lenders and borrowers both: " Everyone in this cycle is implicated in this mess. It's greed, and entitlement. It's all about to come crashing down, and hard."
That has been the ideology that governs our consumerist society: The costs of living as we want to live in the present moment economic, environmental, military, social and moral ultimately are something we push off on other people. Usually, our children. What will they think of us one day when the full bill of what we've done to them comes due?
We don't need to look to Washington for rescue. We need to look at ourselves. We need to return to an older ethic that rewards self-restraint and good stewardship of our resources, financial and otherwise. As it stands now, there is little in American popular culture, including politics, to counter the powerful idea that if we want it, we should have it, and now.
Religious leaders should stop pandering to our most decadent instincts with therapeutic bromides that distract us from the consequences of living beyond our means or, worse, proclaiming a so-called prosperity gospel that makes a golden calf of consumerism.
And it would help if we actually had a conservative party in this country. Rush Limbaugh said not long ago that the purpose of applied conservatism is to enable capitalism to provide for the material desires of the masses. That's what many people who identify themselves as conservatives believe, but it's exactly wrong.
Traditionalist conservatism supports the free market but is acutely aware that unfettered capitalism undermines institutions and practices that conservatives consider crucial to a life whose quality is measured not by individual autonomy or material gain, but by virtue. All the McMansions and plasma TVs and SUVs in the world could be and in many cases is evidence of decadence.
No politician has been elected by scolding the American people, telling us that we have to live within our means or that the glittering idea of limitless material growth and personal freedom conceals severe consequences. But it happens to be true.
Reality, as we are learning, is a harsh teacher.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
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Rod Dreher is assistant editorial page editor of the Dallas Morning News and author of "Crunchy Cons" (Crown Forum).
PREVIOUSLY
01/22/08: Putting faith in Obama: Do GOPers tempted by him know what they're supporting?
11/20/07: We can't fix the world with The Care Bear Stare
10/17/07: Every father should read this book to his son
10/03/07: Not even our parks are safe … And I lay at least part of the blame on the cultural revolution and our obsession with the individual
08/22/07: The Decalogue, dangerous? Advice for a society that cringes at commandments
08/15/07: Playing the anti-science card
08/01/07: How the U.S. can avoid its own version of the fall of the Roman empire
07/24/07: Conservative author: Big business can be as dangerous a threat as big government
07/09/07: All quiet but the doleful pleas of a father who knows
06/28/07: When we let conspiracy theory masquerade as news, we fall prey to much more than deception
06/20/07: Stranded on Delta: They may love to fly, but it certainly doesn't show
06/13/07: When did conservatism start to mean never having to say you're sorry?
05/08/07: PBS darling gets abused by PC police
05/02/07: Impervious to beauty and deadened to depravity
04/20/07: What I know about being a loner
10/28/05: How the conservatives crumble
© 2007, The Dallas Morning News,
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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