Kathryn Lopez

May 22, 2013

John Thorne: They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman

John Rosemond: 'Disciplinary math' adds up to parental successl

Warren Richey: Are prayers before public meetings OK? Supreme Court to decide

Rick Montgomery: Use of ADHD drugs as study aid raises concern on campuses

Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D.: 6 convincing reasons you should keep carbs in your diet

Eoin O'Carroll: Scientists examine nothing, find something

The Kosher Gourmet by Carole Kotkin: This soup is made from one of the great pleasures of spring: A wonderful pairing of rosy color and earthy tang

May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction

Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting

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

'Garbage man' in cells could extend life

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

Top Muslim cleric boycotts inter-faith dialogue conference attended by 'Jews'

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

Hagel, on maiden Middle East visit, arrives in Israel bearing gifts and promises

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

Jewish World Review March 9, 2009 / 14 Adar 5769

The plight of the right could have an end in sight

By Kathryn Lopez

http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Politics these last few weeks have been a game of distraction. President Barack Obama gives a State of the Union-like speech, and we subsequently fixate on the first lady daring to bare her well-toned arms in February. A young, rising-star Republican gives a response to Obama's address, and we focus on the way his suit billows off his shoulders. Conservatives and Republicans meet in a Washington summit, and we discuss former presidential speechwriter and presidential candidate Pat Buchanan's thoughts on the weight (and he wasn't talking gravitas) of Rush Limbaugh.

During economic chaos and war — the latter of which seems to be a secondary concern, judging by Obama's speech to Congress — this furor over fluff isn't particularly helpful. Instead of embroiling ourselves in shrill, personal attacks and grinding minutiae, let's try moving on to fight the real policy battles, the ones in front of us as well as the conflicts to come.

Lost in the mix of idiocy and gossip have been practical solutions to the plight of the right. Limbaugh tends to explore a few each day on his radio show, as he has for decades now. Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele (who has done his share of senseless sniping lately,) claims he wants get on the solution train, too.

But Rush isn't running for office and Steele has gotten off to a bad start. Meanwhile, way outside the limelight, some conservatives quietly toil away, crafting solutions to actual problems.

Sure, every now and again, someone like House Minority Whip Eric Cantor spooks the left enough to make a front-page profile in the New York Times. But generally speaking, a Paul Ryan or Mitt Romney holds forth without much notice from the chattering classes. Along with Limbaugh, Romney, the former governor and candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, spoke at a Conservative Political Action Committee conference held in the capital at the end of February. For all Romney's disadvantages — some real, some grossly unfair (his religion, for one) — he may just be what America will be looking for in four years. At the very least, if you read his speech you'll get a sense of some legitimate options for the right.

A good deal of Limbaugh's appeal is based on his ability to take principles and apply them, quickly and colorfully, to what's happening right now — often breaking news as his show hits the airwaves daily. Reagan could do this as well, and it's why we still miss him.

Romney managed something similar with his remarks. "President Obama was awfully vague about some of his plans, but I think I heard him say that government is responsible for educating a child from birth — from birth —to its first job...And there were hints as well of universal health care and a universal service corps. It all sounds very appealing, until you realize that these plans mean universal government. That model has never worked anywhere in the world."

In other words, vague platitudes about "hope" and "change," coupled with nebulous talk of bipartisanship, can only go so far. In his speech, in which he covered not only the war and the economy, but also judges and education and much else, Romney delivered specifics — not partisan bickering, not quisling compromise, not frightened rhetoric, but an introduction to the straight-up nitty-gritty. Most importantly the past, and perhaps future, presidential candidate set up a viable means of opposition to the liberal wave: "We must be the alternative course. We can't be that if all we say is no. Our plans must be clear, compelling, and first to the table. Our plans must have at least one common thread — they must make America stronger. Better education strengthens our kids; better health care strengthens our citizens; and bringing our budget into balance strengthens our economy and preserves our future. Today, as much as ever, conservative principles are absolutely essential to keeping America strong and prosperous and free."

One speech isn't going to make anyone president — nor should it. But if Romney, who has a record of leadership in the financial, political and even sports worlds, can show that he has a point-by-point alternative vision during these coming years, and encourage others to share it, he may have a second go at the White House. And that would really give them something to talk about.

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