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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
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
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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
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
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
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
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
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
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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
Dec. 15, 2008
/ 18 Kislev 5769
Moral vacuum in Illinois
By
Kathryn Lopez
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
In the hours after the news broke that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich had been carted off for allegedly working to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat, I voiced my relief: At last, an old-fashioned political scandal. I wrote: "This Illinois Senate-seat news is outrageous and shameful. That said, it warms my heart. Finally, a political scandal you can talk to your children about. No room at the Mayflower. No MySpace page. No gay-American announcement. Just good and evil and money and power corrupting."
Sure, the words that emerged in the complaint filed against the beleaguered governor were bleeping nowhere near PG, but at least the headline this time wasn't all about sex. The abandoned Obama Senate seat "is a f-ing valuable thing, you just don't give it away for nothing," Blagojevich asserted. "I'm going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain. You hear what I'm saying. And if I don't get what I want and I'm not satisfied with it, then I'll just take the Senate seat myself."
In his profane and selfish ranting, Blagojevich provides the perfect example of a keeper of the public trust whose sense of responsibility has utterly absquatulated. Power corrupts, especially in Illinois, it would seem, where, even Chicago residents will admit, jail is beginning to look like a rite of passage for the state's governors (this, boys and girls, is what we mean by "Chicago politics").
A hat tip to the Web site www.lifesitenews.com, without which I would not have known about this gem: "In 2005 the governor issued an executive order forcing all pharmacists in the state to fill prescriptions for the abortifacient morning after pill. He boasted in a 2006 interview, 'Rather than try to get the legislature to pass something because we attempted to and they didn't do it on my own, through executive order action, I forced these guys to fill prescriptions for birth control for women who come in with prescriptions from their doctors.'"
In another interview, he would boast, "Think about what we've been able to do since I've been governor. The reproductive freedoms of women are more protected in Illinois than any state in America. That's in (stark) contrast to the advances and assaults coming from the Bush administration of Washington. We passed a law under my leadership to make insurance companies fill female contraceptives. Illinois had never done that before and we passed that law."
How's that for leadership to be proud of? This is a case of government compulsion on an issue that should not be taken lightly by public officials: freedom of conscience concerning matters that many Americans including some pharmacists consider life and death.
Merriam-Webster defines conscience as "the sense ... of the moral goodness or blameworthiness of one's own conduct, intentions or character together with a feeling of obligation to do right or be good." Not only did Blagojevich cast aside any such sense in his operations as governor and his maneuvering for increased power, he also sought to deprive others of their right to live according to their own established ethical codes.
The pharmacist issue foreshadows a debate that, if President-elect Obama is true to his word, will soon rise on a national level. Obama has promised that the Freedom of Choice Act will be one of his first legislative priorities after assuming the presidency. The FOCA would lift all restrictions on abortion in America. This means that states where governors did allow their legislatures to keep pharmacists and hospitals free from mandated abortion-assistance will be overruled by a federal conscience interruptus.
There are obvious takeaways from the Blagojevich scandal that pols were quick to pick up on. For one: distance yourself from these crimes. The Democratic Party has been smart about that Obama and all of the Senate Democrats didn't take too much time before they called on Blagojevich to resign from office. But there are more lessons to learn, ones not so obvious. Whether you're running for office, holding a public trust or simply voting politics are all about conscience. Being guided by it, protecting it and understanding it. Rod Blagojevich not only cast conscience aside, he ridiculed it, he trampled on it, and, worst of all, he thought he could live without it. He sang his anti-consciousness from the rooftops.
It's not just the crime, it's a matter of conscience.
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