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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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Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
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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)
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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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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
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Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
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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
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
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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
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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
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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
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Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
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January 11, 2012
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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
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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
Sept. 2, 2005
/ 28 Av, 5765
A national disgrace
By
Rich Lowry
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
The disaster of New Orleans, unspooling minute by minute on our
TV screens, has been wrenching in one particular way even more
gut-twisting than Sept. 11.
You could watch the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and feel
horrified at the sheer violence and destruction of it; angry at the
murderous evil of Mohammed Atta and the other hijackers; heartbroken
at the awful suffering and loss. But there wasn't any cause to feel
embarrassed and ashamed.
Those are the emotions evoked by sights of the massive
lawlessness in New Orleans in the days after the storm and the
inability of anyone to stop it. Katrina unleashed a catastrophe of
nearly unimaginable proportions, confronting government at all
levels with enormous challenges. That the reaction to the hurricane
initially seemed uneven and slow is understandable, but even
allowing for the hellish circumstances, the breakdown in civil order
has been stunning.
Without order, which government exists to protect, nothing else
is possible. Not even rescue operations, as New Orleans Mayor Ray
Nagin has learned. On Wednesday night, as the city descended into an
urban dystopia straight out of the 1981 film "Escape From New York,"
he had to command nearly all the city's 1,500 police officers to
focus on re-establishing law and order instead of saving endangered
people.
Everyone understands desperate people getting food or water by
any means possible. Plundering tennis shoes and TVs, as a small
thuggish minority has done, is another matter. And the problem is
that there is no such thing as a little chaos. Once a climate of
disorder is set, it has a logic of its own. First, it was stealing
tennis shoes, and then it was taking potshots at a helicopter arriving
to evacuate people from the Superdome. Goons stole a bus from a
nursing home and threatened its residents. Rescue workers report
that rocks and bottles have been thrown at them and shots fired
their way.
Unfortunately, the urban revival that had swept much of the
country mostly left New Orleans behind. The atmosphere of lawfulness
that stood New York City in good stead after 9/11 and during the
2003 blackout although those were much less far-reaching
disasters was never established. The city never had a Rudy
Giuliani. Even as murder rates continued to decline in other cities
in recent years, the murder rate in New Orleans crept up. The police
were plagued by allegations of corruption and brutality, and,
according to The Associated Press, only had "3.14 officers per 1,000
residents less than half the rate in Washington, D.C."
Law enforcement, of course, is primarily a state and local
responsibility, but in the age of the 24-hour news cycle, people
look to the federal government and the president to solve any
problem on their TV screens. Already the question is being asked if
the feds could have jumped in sooner (the National Guard is now
arriving in force). If President Bush pays a political price for the
images of lawlessness that have played out in New Orleans, it will
be the second time looting has hurt his cause.
The other, of course, was in Baghdad in 2003. It is a matter of
consensus now that the rip-the-place-apart looting in the initial
days after the fall of Saddam Hussein set the occupation off on the
wrong foot. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld explained the
looting away at the time as the natural exuberance of a newly
liberated people. One wonders: Has anyone in the administration read
their Hobbes? Or does he not make the "compassionate conservative"
reading list?
New Orleans has provided a corrosive lesson about government. At
all levels, government is overbearing and nagging, paying for
people's prescription drugs and telling us whether we can smoke in
restaurants or not. But when it comes to its most elemental task of
maintaining order and protecting property, it might not be up to the
task when it is needed most.
Keep that in mind and buy a gun, just in case.
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Rich Lowry Archives
© 2005 King Features Syndicate
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