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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 July 22, 2011 / 20 Tamuz, 5771

How's That ‘Change’ Working out for you?

By Greg Crosby


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Barack Obama's big campaign promise was "change." He promised that if elected he would transform America. At his presidential announcement speech on February 10, 2007 two of his actual quotes are as follows:


"I'm in this race not just to hold an office, but to gather with you to transform a nation."

"In the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it."


Then on October 31, 2008 as Election Day grew nearer, he said:


"We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America." And he's been doing his best to live up to that promise ever since.

"Fundamentally transforming the United States of America."


That phrase always bothered me, because I happen to like America the way it is, the fairest and best country on the face of the earth - the one country where creativity, intelligence, and determination can pay off for anybody if you're willing to work hard for it. But Obama has been trying his best to change all that. After almost three years into his administration I'm convinced Obama believes in "social justice"(code for redistribution of the wealth) and complete federal government control.

Attempting to turn the United States into a European-style entitlement state is certainly "change," and a pretty radical change at that. Okay, we're not Belgium yet, but Obamacare is a damn good start in that direction - the first step to socialized medicine. All through the campaign he used the terms "transform" and "change" to describe what he would do if he became president. Since we're only a little over one year away from the next election, this might be a good time to examine just how well those "changes" are going so far.

Thanks to Obama's federal spending spree of the last three years, our debt crisis is now at the point where the credit-rating agencies are saying the U.S. is at the brink of losing the AAA rating it has had since 1917. Federal governmental spending, mostly on entitlement programs, is at its highest since World War II.

Last week Senator Marco Rubio of Florida said, "Every aspect of life in America today is worse than it was when [President Obama] took over. Unemployment higher. Interest rates higher. The only thing that has gone down in America over the last two years is the value of your home. This president has mismanaged this economy. He has been incompetent in his management of this economy,"

The old saying is "figures don't lie, so let's take a look at some figures. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in June 2008 was 5.6%. For June 2011 it was 9.2%. That's definitely change, I must admit. Check out these other stats. All of them from reliable sources as indicated in the ( ) brackets.

After almost three years of Obama ... Here's your Change:

Avgerage Retail price/gallon gas in U.S.
$1.83
$3.64
+84%
(1)

Crude oil, European Brent (barrel)
$43.48
$99.02
+127.7%
(2)

Crude oil, West TX Inter. (barrel)
$38.74
$91.38
+135.9%
(2)

Gold: London (per troy oz.)
$853.25
$1,369.50
+60.5%
(2)

Corn, No.2 yellow, Central IL
$3.56
$6.33
+78.1%
(2)

Soybeans No. 1 yellow
$9.66
$13.75
+42.3%
(2)

Sugar, cane, raw, world, lb. Fob
$13.37
$35.39
+164.7%
(2)

Number of unemployed
11,616,000
14,485,000
+24.7%
(3)

Number of fed. Employees
2,779,000
2,840,000
+2.2%
(3)

Real median household income
$50,112
$49,777
-0.7%
(4)

Number of food stamp recipients
31,983,716
43,200,878
+35.1%
(5)

Number of unemployment benefit recipients
7,526,598
9,193,838
+22.2%
(6)

Number of long-term unemployed
2,600,000
6,400,000
+146.2%
(3)

Poverty rate, individuals
13.2%
14.3%
+8.3%
(4)

People in poverty in U.S.
39,800,000
43,600,000
+9.5%
(4)

U.S. Rank in Economic Freedom World Rankings
5
9
n/a
(10)

A PLACE LIKE NO OTHER Present Situation Index
29.9
23.5
-21.4%
(11)

Failed banks
140
164
+17.1%
(12)

U.S. Dollar versus Japanese yen exchange rate
89.76
82.03
-8.6%
(2)

U.S. Money supply, M1, in billions
1,575.1
1,865.7
+18.4%
(13)

U.S. Money supply, M2, in billions
8,310.9
8,852.3
+6.5%
(13)

National debt, in trillions
$10.627
$14.342
+32.2%
(14)


Sources:
(1) U.S. Energy Information Administration; (2) Wall Street Journal; (3) Bureau of Labor Statistics; (4) Census Bureau; (5) USDA; (6) U.S. Dept. Of Labor; (7) FHFA; ( Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller; (9) RealtyTrac; (10) Heritage Foundation and WSJ; (11) The Conference Board; (12) FDIC; (13) Federal Reserve; (14) U.S. Treasury

Those are the stats and I've given you the sources, check them out for yourself. And as Election Day 2012 draws closer, just remember the words that were said in 2008 by the man of the future, the candidate of "change," Barack Obama, who declared to the world that his nomination would mark the moment "when the rise of oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal." Are we healed yet, oh mighty B.O.?

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.


JWR contributor Greg Crosby, former creative head for Walt Disney publications, has written thousands of comics, hundreds of children's books, dozens of essays, and a letter to his congressman. A freelance writer in Southern California, you may contact him by clicking here.

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© 2008, Greg Crosby

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