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Feb. 8, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Lofty ideals must be followed with grounded applications

Clifford D. May: Letter from the West Bank
Steve Rothaus: Judge OKs plan for gay man, lesbian couple to be on girl's birth certificate
Gloria Goodale: States consider drone bans: Overreaction or crucial for privacy rights?
Environmental Nutrition Editors: Don't buy the aloe vera juice hype
Michael Craig Miller, M.D.: Harvard Experts: Regular exercise pumps up memory, too
Erik Lacitis: Vanity plates: Some take too much license
The Kosher Gourmet by Susie Middleton: Broccoflower, Carrot and Leek Ragout with Thyme, Orange and Tapenade is a delightful and satisfying melange of veggies, herbs and aromatics
Feb. 6, 2013

Nara Schoenberg: The other in-law problem

Frank J. Gaffney Jr. : A see-no-jihadist for the CIA
Kristen Chick: Ahmadinejad visits Cairo: How sect tempers Islamist ties between Egypt, Iran
Roger Simon: Ed Koch's lucky corner
Heron Marquez Estrada: Robot-building sports on a roll
Patrick G. Dean, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: How to restore body's ability to secrete insulin
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: 3 prostate-protecting diet tips
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen 7 principles for to help you make the best soup ever in a slow cooker
Feb. 4, 2013

Jonathan Tobin: Can Jewish Groups Speak Out on Hagel?

David Wren: Findings of government study, released 3 days before Newtown shooting, at odds with gun-control crusaders
Kristen Chick: Tahrir becomes terrifying, tainted
Curtis Tate and Greg Gordon: US keeps building new highways while letting old ones crumble
David G. Savage: Supreme Court to hear case on arrests, DNA
Harvard Health Letters: Neck and shoulder pain? Know what it means and what to do
Andrea N. Giancoli, M.P.H., R.D.: Eat your way to preventing age-related muscle loss
The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington Baked Pears in Red Wine and Port Wine Glaze: A festive winter dessert
Feb. 1, 2013

Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: Redemption

Clifford D. May Home, bloody, home
Christa Case Bryant andNicholas Blanford Why despite Syria's allies warning of retaliation for Israeli airstrikes, the threats are likely hollow
Rick Armon, Ed Meyer and Phil Trexler Ex-police captain cleared by DNA test is freed after nearly 15 years
Harvard Health Letters: Could it by your thyroid?
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: When 'healthy food' isn't
Sue Zeidler: Coke ad racist? Arab-American groups want to yank Super Bowl ad (INCLUDES VIDEO)
The Kosher Gourmet by Nealey Dozier The secret of this soup is the garnish
January 30, 2013

Allan Chernoff: Celebrating 'Back from the Dead Day'

America isn't a religious country? Don't tell Superbowl fans!
Mark Clayton Cybercrime takedown!
Germany remembers Hitler rise to power
Israel salutes U. N. --- with the one finger salute
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: Get cookin' with heart-healthy fats
Ballot riles Guinness World Records
The Kosher Gourmet by Elizabeth Passarella Potato, Squash and Goat Cheese Gratin
January 28, 2013

Nancy Youssef: And Democracy for all? Two years on, Egypt remains in state of chaos

Fred Weir: Putin: West is fomenting jihadi 'blowback'
Meredith Cohn: Implantable pain disk may help those with cancer
Michael Craig Miller, M.D. : Ask the Harvard Experts: Are there drugs to help control binge eating?
David Ovalle Use of controversial 'brain mapping' technology stymied
Jane Stancill: Professor's logic class has 180,000 friends
David Clark Scott Lego Racism?
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali The celebrated chef introduces us to PANZEROTTI PUGLIESI, cheese-stuffed pastry from Italy's south


Jewish World Review April 7, 2010 / 23 Nissan 5770

Go Quietly, Michael Steele

By Mona Charen


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | How to put this politely? Michael Steele is a man of considerable talent — it's just that he conspicuously lacks those required for his present position. He's energetic, personable, and articulate. But those are not the qualities most required of a party chairman. The job demands an administrator, a behind-the-scenes schmoozer, and a tactician. Showboating is a hindrance. It's a job that requires the talents of a stage manager, whereas Steele likes to be the star. At a time when the Republican Party is the indispensable vehicle for thwarting the disastrous policies of the Obamaites, Steele is a costly distraction in more ways than one.


Let's stipulate that the chairman was not in attendance when RNC staffers accompanied prospective young donors to the "lesbian bondage" nightclub called Voyeur in West Hollywood, Calif., and that he only recently learned, along with the rest of us, that the RNC picked up the nearly $2,000 tab. Fine. But that establishes only that Steele is not a total fool (which cannot be said of the now-terminated RNC staffer). It hardly absolves him of managerial responsibility.


This was not a first offense. Since his election as RNC chairman, Steele has indulged an appetite for luxury hotels, chartered airplanes, expensive restaurants, and a lavish redecoration of his offices. Roll Call reported that Steele spent $18,500 to redecorate his dark-paneled office. "This is gonna sound weird," he explained, but "it's way too male for me." Actually, more than anything, it sounds vain and self-indulgent. Among the new accoutrements — a Bowflex machine.


The Daily Caller (which broke the story of the Voyeur outing) also reported that the RNC spent $17,514 in the month of February alone for chartered airplanes, and that Steele had looked into the possibility of buying a private plane for the chairman's use. When he travels, Steele stays at luxury hotels like the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Four Seasons. While raising decent amounts of cash, the Republican Party under Steele has also burned through it quickly. Between July 2009 and February 2010, the GOP raised $63 million but spent $78 million, leaving the party without a solid cushion heading into the 2010 contests — and behaving all too much like the federal government.


A party chairman does need to get around. But until now, it has usually been in the service of the GOP. Though he may not have charged donors for expenses on speaking gigs, Steele has been delivering speeches for his own enrichment, reportedly charging fees of up to $20,000.

Letter from JWR publisher


In a year when Americans, particularly Republicans and independents, are apoplectic about Washington's promiscuous spending, this doesn't exactly send the right signal.


Well, if management isn't his strong suit, he must compensate with inspiring leadership, right? Not quite. He debuted with an utterly gratuitous swipe at Rush Limbaugh as "incendiary" and "ugly," and followed that with an unhelpful reference to abortion as an "individual choice" (though Steele is pro-life). Asked in January whether the Republicans would win the House of Representatives in 2010, Steele said, "Not this year." Not helpful — and possibly not even true.


Now, with Voyeur making all the comedians' monologues, Steele is suggesting that he, like President Obama, is held to higher standards because he is black. It's possible that some people are more judgmental about him because he's black, but it's undeniable that many people are inhibited from voicing their dissatisfaction with him for the same reason.


Political parties are not college seminars, and leaders needn't be saints. But the Republican Party is just clawing back to respectability after the irresponsible spending of the Republican congressional majorities, the Foley scandal, and the perceived weaknesses of the Bush presidency. More importantly, the country is faced with a profound challenge from the left. If the (social) Democrats under Obama/Pelosi/Reid are not stopped, if the Republican Party is unable to attract the energy and passion of the tea party movement, the country will be irreversibly changed for the worse.


At this moment, the Republican Party needs more than ever to present a sober, serious, and ethical face to the public. Voyeur was the last straw. It would be an unselfish gesture for Steele to step aside.

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