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February 10, 2012
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David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
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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
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February 6, 2012
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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
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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
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Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
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Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
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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
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Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
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January 17, 2012
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January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
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John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
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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
June 22, 2009
/ 30 Sivan 5769
People often ask why this country is so screwed up. I wonder if we don't get the country we deserve
By
Mitch Albom
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
I went to see the movie "The Hangover" recently. This is hardly news. Millions of people have seen it.
What struck me was who I saw it with. Sitting in front of me, between a man and a woman whom I presume were his parents, was a boy in a Little League uniform who couldn't have been more than 9 years old.
And sitting down the row were two other children, maybe 4 and 7.
And a few rows up and a few rows back were several other grade-school-aged kids all with parents or guardians.
Now, in case you aren't familiar with "The Hangover," it is a crude, funny, crude, wild, crude, fast-paced, crude story of four guys on a bachelor party in Las Vegas who wake up with no idea what they did the night before.
As the movie goes on, they reconstruct a night that includes sex, blood, strippers, used condoms and a frontally naked man locked in a trunk.
That's just for starters.
The language could make a sailor blush. And there are shots at the end of a man and an old woman engaged in oral sex that baffled, given the R rating. Time was, that was XX.
I don't tell you all this to influence you on the movie. I tell you all this before the movie influences your kids.
LEARNING BY VIEWING, RIGHT?
The 9-year-old had been in line behind me for tickets. I actually spoke to him about his Little League game. His voice was high, his cap was forward, and he said his team had lost the game "17 to 22."
Later, I heard him ask his mother if they could see "Land of the Lost," the Will Ferrell comedy, which is at least rated PG-13.
The mother said no, she wanted to see "The Hangover."
And thus the Little Leaguer got a crash course in everything from sex, drugs, stripping, "roofies," drinking games and getting beaten up by Mike Tyson.
I don't get it. Even the most liberal, open-minded parent would have seen "The Hangover" as inappropriate for kids. It's not as if the ads fool you into thinking it's "Cinderella."
Yet here was this kid, and the other kids, sitting with their parents, and I can only assume it was for one of the following reasons:
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They couldn't afford a babysitter.
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They think it goes "over their heads."
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They just don't give a damn.
As for the first, well, times are tough. But if you can't afford a sitter, aren't there any PG or PG-13 movies you can endure?
As for "going over their heads" please. If a kid can learn how to spell from "Sesame Street," he or she can figure out sex and guzzling alcohol if you SHOW IT HIM OR HER FOR TWO HOURS!
As for not giving a damn? That's obvious.
And pathetic.
SO WHO RAISES OUR CHILDREN?
It's bad enough the stuff you can hardly control billboards or TV commercials that feature semi-naked people leering and writhing as if all of life is one big sex and beer orgy.
But to willfully take your child into a theater, when you know the subject, when you know the film is rated R, just because YOU want to see the movie, is a denial of responsibility that almost leaves me speechless.
And it did. People with me wanted to say something to the parents of the Little Leaguer. But I shook my head. If they sat through the whole movie and never as much covered the kid's eyes, I knew what would come if I questioned them. A glare. Maybe a shouting match. One of those, "Who are you to try to raise my kids?"
The answer, of course, is the irony of the whole thing. They will let Hollywood raise their kids without a peep of protest, but you, a concerned neighbor, should keep your mouth shut.
People often ask why this country is so screwed up. I wonder if we don't get the country we deserve.
That'll give you a real hangover.
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