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February 13, 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?
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Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
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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
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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
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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
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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
July 22, 2010
/ 11 Menachem-Av, 5770
The pig has died
By
Cokie and Steve Roberts
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs is in deep trouble for committing one of Washington's most unforgivable sins. He spread a vicious truth.
Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press," Gibbs said out loud what every analyst in the capital knows: "There's no doubt" that Republicans could regain control of the House in November. But his frankness caused such dismay in the party ranks that the White House dispatched Joe Biden to say on ABC's "This Week" that he was "absolutely confident" the Democrats were in "great shape" with the voting public.
Gibbs' remark was so noteworthy because it was so rare. The fastest-growing industry in Washington, D.C., today goes by different names: spin control, message discipline, crisis management, image branding. These are not exactly euphemisms for lying but they are certainly not formulas for truth-telling, either. Here's a good rule to follow for the next 100 days until the fall elections: Anyone with a vested interest in the outcome can't be trusted. The honest brokers are out of power and want to stay there.
Two of the most valuable candor merchants out there today are Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, the co-chairs of a commission established by President Obama to recommend a solution for the nation's exploding budget deficits. Simpson, a Republican from Wyoming, retired from the Senate after 18 years; Bowles, a Democrat from North Carolina, was Bill Clinton's chief of staff and an unsuccessful Senate candidate.
Both are liberated from the burden of ambition to speak their minds freely. "There are many who hope we fail," Simpson said recently, and if anything, he was understating the problem. Liberals say no solution should cut social programs, and conservatives say tax increases should be off the table. Neither side is willing to face reality, but they are both wrong, and Bowles said as much in a recent talk to the nation's governors. "This debt is like a cancer," he warned, "that will destroy the country from within.
"We can't grow our way out of this," insisted Bowles. "We could have decades of double-digit growth and not grow our way out of this enormous debt problem. We can't tax our way out. … The reality is we've got to do exactly what you all do every day as governors. We've got to cut spending or increase revenues or do some combination of that."
Simpson, who works hard at being folksy, put the problem a bit differently: "I was in the Senate for 18 years, and the cry to me was always, 'Al, go bring home the bacon.' Well, the pig has died."
Yes, it has. And it's refreshing when someone says so. Take Rep. Bob Inglis, an obscure backbencher from South Carolina who lost the Republican primary this past spring and is firing some parting shots at his old party.
Sarah Palin, complained Inglis, exercised "the lowest form of political leadership" by accusing the Democrats of advocating "death panels" in their healthcare bill. It was not true, and she knew it, he said, but she was deliberately deceiving the voters by "preying on their fears" and few, if any, Republicans were willing to challenge her.
The "birthers" who question the president's legitimacy are also trading in fear, he said: "Why do we do that? We do it because we want to vilify the other side. We want to make them into the big bad guys." And racism, Inglis insisted, helps fuel that invidious campaign: "I love the South. I'm a Southerner. But I can feel it."
Obama himself could use some honest advice on the subject of Afghanistan, and a particularly piercing critique comes from Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. A former adviser to Republican presidents, Haass is now outside the partisan system and free to write in the latest Newsweek: "The war the United States is now fighting in Afghanistan is not succeeding and is not worth waging in this way. The time has come to scale back U.S. objectives and sharply reduce U.S. involvement on the ground. Afghanistan is claiming too many American lives, requiring too much attention, and absorbing too many resources."
Any politician running for office who made that point could and would be accused of "cutting and running," of "abandoning the troops" and "undermining morale." Only an independent voice like Haass can afford to take the heat.
So here's to the truth-tellers: Bowles and Simpson, Inglis and Haass and, yes, Robert Gibbs. When the pig dies, someone has to find the courage to say so.
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© 2010, NEA
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