Kathryn Lopez

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 July 13, 2009 / 20 Tamuz 5769

Fame's funhouse mirror

By Kathryn Lopez

http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Michael Jackson's circus of a memorial was heartbreaking. Not because Usher broke down while singing. Not for most of the reasons given by the overwrought international press corps. When a 12-year-old former contestant on "Britain's Got Talent" sang, (just a few years older than Jackson when he was first inducted into the media spotlight), it suggested that no one's learned anything.

In the wall-to-wall, breaking-news coverage of Jackson's death, there was much speculation about the pain in the singer's life that could have been responsible for his often bizarre behavior — though many of the scandals and ugly rumors that the media had obsessed about in his latter years were put aside in favor of massive shared mourning. It was as if everyone who had ever listened to "Thriller" had suffered some traumatic loss akin to the death of a relative.

The Jackson furor took one family out of the news — the family of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, which has suffered its own heartbreak and scandal, after Sanford admitted to having an extramarital affair. It took another Republican governor to break through the Jackson frenzy for one afternoon. When Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, set off some pre-Fourth of July surprise fireworks by announcing that she would not only not run for re-election but also resign from office, she gave the media their new story. And, televised again, was an indication that what happened to Jackson could happen again.

The media didn't destroy Michael Jackson. But there is something about public life that can crush souls, destroy families and drive people mad. Life in the spotlight means that an unwed teenager's predicament becomes fodder for national talking heads, as Palin's daughter did, shortly after her mother achieved immense fame as John McCain's vice-presidential candidate.

The decision to enter public life is made freely by someone, but in the case of a child the decision is not fully their own. Perhaps the parents are to blame for whatever comes of it. Perhaps in the case of a political family, the media needs to lay off completely when it comes to children. But it's hard to resist drama.

In drama, however, there is destruction.

Palin's resignation announcement suggested that she and her family were subject to the pains of overexposure. Some will blame her for it. Others accuse her of being an erratic quitter. Or she may also be a human being who was served up too much too soon, whose family was suffering because of it. Maybe she was a woman of obvious ambition who saw an opportunity to dial back the media onslaught and get some control over it.

As a popular child singer, Jackson was too young to do such a thing. By the time he was "Bad," and later a father swinging his child over a balcony, perhaps he was far beyond being able to show the judgment demonstrated by Palin's decision to make a change in her life and the life of her family.

You don't have to like Palin or own "Thriller" to consider the effect that massive public scrutiny has on human lives. Just a quick look at any celebrity tabloid will reveal a host of young people who have been burned by the glare of the floodlights.

Michael Jackson should be a warning. Sarah Palin should be a cautionary tale — maybe in a special way to young moms in politics. At some point maybe we all ought to step back. Palin may have wisely decided to. Whatever the politics, whatever the entertainment genre, things like common decency and the Golden Rule dictate we look at the man in the mirror when watching human frailty on display.

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