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May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

Emily Alpert: Recession dragged down birth rates for less-educated women
Morgan Housel: The deep downside of home ownership

Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

Heidi McIndoo, M.S., R.D.: Meatless 'meat' can have its own set of problems

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate! This must-try appetizer is delicate yet has depth of flavor: Corn-Leek Cakes with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

Mona Charen: Hawking's Moral Calculus: The man and the movement he embraces
Morgan Housel: The biggest retirement myth ever told

Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A sweet-hot meal: Pear salsa spices up salmon

May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility

May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage
Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

Kimberly Lankford: How to track down a lost life insurance policy

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

Mediterranean diet helps beat dementia: study
Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: A sweet surprise for Mother's Day dessert

May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Halena M. Gazelka, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: What you need to know about implanted pain relief devices

Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine

Jessica Shugart: When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs

The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The celebrated chef on how high-maintenance ASPARAGUS RISOTTO need not be

April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Major Leaguers, 2013; New Movies and Comedy Show; Shalom, 'Lumpy' (Leave it to Beaver)

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on
Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

Melissa Healy: Pot in a pill: All the pain relief without the smoke

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

US man departing country arrested on terror charges
Barbara Williams: An unorthodox but growing treatment in a 9-year-old's battle against cancer

P.J. Skerrett, M.D.: How to recognize a good whole grain product

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Teen actor Jonah Bobo in New Flick: Hunky James Wolk on Mad Men; Erich Segal's Daughter Writes Prize-Winning Jewish Novel


Jewish World Review May 6, 2010 / 22 Iyar 5770

Greece on the Brink: Blame It on John Edwards

By Larry Elder



http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Some blame a culture of comfort. Others blame politicians. Why not blame John Edwards?


In Greece, the bill collector knocks on the front door. The country staggers, one German forefinger from default. Default means fewer buyers for Greece's debt, even at much higher rates of interest. As we see with the housing collapse, financial institutions and economies globally interconnect. Trouble there spells trouble here.


The Greece deficit as a percentage of its gross domestic product is over 13 percent. The rules of the European Union, of which Greece is a member, require a percentage below 3 percent. Its debt as a percentage of its GDP is 115 percent. The EU requires a level of not higher than 60 percent.


Greece is but one of many "advanced" countries with bad balance sheets. To the list add Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, England, France and many others. Japan recently saw its bonds downgraded because of high public debt. In America, government continues to spend way more than it takes in, with the trend line rising higher. Our deficit-to-GDP percentage is close to 10 percent. Our debt-to-GDP percentage for 2009 was 83 percent — with 94 percent expected in 2010.


This brings us to John Edwards.


The former Democratic presidential candidate talked about the "two Americas." In one America, everybody lives off the family trust fund. They know the secret handshake that admits them into Harvard and gets them the best tables at restaurants. They name their girls Ashley and give their kids German sports cars when they graduate from prep school.


But then there's that Other America.


In Edwards' Other America, everybody's a victim. "Oppressors" post signs above the ghetto or barrio or trailer park that say, "Abandon hope all ye who enter here." Kids cannot or should not be expected to take advantage of government-provided education and easy entrance into a junior college, college or university — often with subsidized tuition. In this America, we treat people as if they are too stupid or lazy to act responsibly. Did Edwards call for more cops, aggressive law enforcement and longer sentences to combat crime that makes life harder and more dangerous? Does he want parents to choose the schools their children attend? No, he wants to subsidize counterproductive behavior with an arsenal of welfare and entitlement programs, along with the "you owe me" mentality.

Letter from JWR publisher

Americans, including the poor, live far better today than at any time in history. Life is easier, safer and full of choices. Success and upward mobility depend less than ever on physical strength and more than ever on knowledge. And knowledge is more accessible than ever. Most rich people did not start out that way. There is a great deal of upward and, for that matter, downward mobility. Many living in the Other America own their homes outright, own more than one car and live at a level of comfort that equals the middle class of even some "advanced" countries.


But Edwards tells us that it isn't enough to be blessed to live in a country that assures an unalienable right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We need guarantees. Government — ignoring its limited duties prescribed in the Constitution — must provide an ever-expanding "social safety net" at the expense of the work and wealth of someone else. Some have it better than others. And government should address the gosh dang unfairness of it all.


Class envy, characterizing "the disadvantaged" as victims, and stoking a sense of entitlement are the push-pull between politician and citizen. Never mind that society needs producers. It needs innovators, risk takers, job creators. Wealth takes work and lots of time. Luck of birth plays a part, but effort drives the bus.


Edwards, in fact, is a walking, talking refutation of the need for more government. In speeches, he'd tell, "My daddy was a millworker." Yeah, for a time. But Daddy Edwards got promoted — as many hard workers do — to supervisor and then to manager. The Edwards clan moved from working-class neighborhoods to a middle-class neighborhood. Then Daddy Edwards became a manufacturing consultant whose son became a rich medical malpractice lawyer.


Yet Edwards arrogantly insists that the formula his family applied — good parenting, education, hard work — doesn't work for the Other America, even though he started out in it.


The European social democracies, including Greece, were built on "economic equality" and "social justice" — the costs borne by someone else. The bill is coming due. Proposed cuts in generous pensions and changes to early retirement face intense opposition and have already sparked riots. When robbing Peter to pay Paul, you can guarantee the support of Paul. But try taking stuff away from Paul.


Edwards' vision — and that of President Barack "I think at some point you have made enough money" Obama — is, in the end, self-defeating. It promises protection from want and uncertainty. But it delivers dependency, less prosperity — and an even longer sentence in the Other America.

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 Larry Elder is the author of, most recently, "Stupid Black Men: How to Play the Race Card--and Lose." (Proceeds from sales help fund JWR)

Let him know what you think of his column by clicking here.

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© 2006, Creators Syndicate

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