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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. 12, 2009
/ 18 Shevat 5769
The harder they fall
By
Debra J. Saunders
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
I ran into a friend in Sacramento Tuesday one of the many disappointed Republicans who inhabit the capital who told me that he will never again vote for a candidate for governor who has not lost an election. He had soured on the lack of humility invasive in state politics.
When I worked in the Capitol in 1987, the rap against Sacramento was that there were too many backroom and bar-napkin deals. The rap today is that there are no deals at all. Or as appears to be the case there are deals hammered out so late in the game that they inflict more pain than is necessary.
Why? Because too many politicians think they're too good to cut a good deal.
In past columns on Sacramento's sorry finances, I've hit the Dems, who as the majority party have spent California into oblivion, and the Republicans, who would not agree to tax increases when they would have been less painful than now. And I've hit the governator for not reducing spending early in his tenure, as promised.
As Sacramento is poised to act, let us not forget California voters, who demand that their politicians tell them only what they want to hear, and threaten to behead any elected official who deviates from that script.
Thank you, California voters. You send the most liberal Democrats and most conservative Republicans to Sacramento, and then you are indig
nant when the extremists cannot work together.
You recalled Gov. Gray Davis and replaced him with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger because Davis raised the vehicle license fee. When Schwarzenegger proposed spending cuts, you abandoned him.
When Schwarzenegger put a spending limit measure on the 2005 ballot, you rejected it not because of the content of the measure, but because you were miffed he had called a special election.
You sure showed him, didn't you?
When state lawmakers on each side of the aisle began to work on a budget, you sat back as activists from both parties pulled out their pitchforks. Labor leaders have threatened to wage recall efforts against Democrats who vote to ease workplace rules or reduce state spending. Conservatives say they will bury any Republican who votes to raise taxes. At home, voters are wondering whom to blame for not getting their way.
After Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Hesperia, said he would vote for a tax increase if Democrats agreed to limit spending in the future, former state GOP Sen. Ray Haynes took off on Adams for putting the "short-term pursuit of power over the long-term pursuit of principle" on the popular conservative website www.flashreport.org.
The problem is: Republicans' idea of principle has been to pass spending plans that burned extra tax dollars without levying higher taxes to pay for these programs. As Republican Tom Campbell, the former state finance director who may run for governor in 2010, noted, "There is nothing principled in passing a dishonest budget."
And: "To say that because you're willing to compromise, you lack principle, well, that's an argument for a monarchy."
As of my deadline, details of the Sacramento budget are sketchy, but Sen. GOP leader Dave Cogdill told the Sacramento Bee he was releasing Republicans to support the measure because, "I've negotiated it to the point where I think it doesn't get any better."
Even without the details, I can safely predict the plan will include painful spending cuts and painful tax increases. Yes, it will be humbling.
It could have been easier if Sacramento solons had been better at cutting deals earlier. Alas, like their constituents, Sacramento lawmakers have had a too-royal view of their principles. Like children, they've dedicated their careers to doing whatever they pleased righteous in their conviction that whatever came easy was right.
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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Debra J. Saunders Archives
© 2009, Creators Syndicate
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