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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 Jan. 10, 2013/ 28 Teves, 5773

Hold the applause

By Paul Greenberg




http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | It was H.L. Mencken who said nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public. He didn't think to add that no politician ever lost an election by underestimating the gullibility of the American public.

The latest illustration of that point was the last-minute deal our congressional leaders worked out to avoid pushing the country over -- forgive me, the cliche is unavoidable -- the Fiscal Cliff. Then the politicos stood back, admired their shoddy work, and hailed it as some kind of great victory for fairness, responsibility and The American Way. The country had been saved. And they had saved it!

Barack Obama led the chorus of self-praise by saying that, at last, a way had been found to make "millionaires and billionaires" begin to pay "their fair share."

Unless, that is, the millionaires and billionaires happen to be among those whose tax breaks were carefully protected in the small print of this midnight raid on the U.S. Treasury and the credulity of the American public. Millionaires and billionaires like those who own NASCAR racetracks, railroads, foreign subsidiaries of American corporations, or businesses located on Indian reservations or in a favored part of New York.

Or the billionaires and millionaires who are Hollywood moguls, or own plants in American Samoa (Starkist Tuna) or distilleries in Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands (Bacardi). Or if those millionaires and billionaires have a stake in various "green" industries like plug-in motorcycles, wind power or celluloid biofuels, whatever those are. Or if said billionaires and millionaires have invested in enterprises like General Electric and Siemens, which also got their share of tax breaks in this something-for-everybody bill.

The handouts in this bill go on and on. The full list can be found in a report out of the Joint Congressional Committee on Taxation, but to read it may require a strong stomach. Not a single special interest seems to have been left out. There are so many that I lost count of all the snouts at this public trough.

Now that he's no longer running for president, John McCain can afford to be candid about what Congress -- and the president -- have wrought. Here's his comment on this mountain of pork disguised as a statesmanlike compromise: "It's hard to think of anything that could feed the cynicism of the American people more than larding up must-pass emergency legislation with giveaways to special interests and campaign contributors."

There is always a touch of irony to the names politicians assign their sneakiest proposals, but the official title of this deal rushed through Congress at the midnight hour is more ironic than most: The American Taxpayer Relief Act, which turns out to relieve some well-heeled taxpayers most of all.

So much for making all those billionaires and millionaires pay their fair share. The tax lawyers, CPAs and financial planners must be lining up tax shelters even now. And there'll be plenty of safe havens to choose from thanks to the American Taxpayer Relief Act (and Tax Dodge) of 2012. Specifically, of the very last minutes of 2012.

This is our president's idea of fair taxation, even though this last-minute deal raised payroll taxes on every working stiff in the country, as anybody who draws a paycheck has now discovered, or will soon enough. If they'll just check their pay stub. If there's anything less fair than this deal that favors one special interest after another, it's the Hon. Barack Obama's description of it as some kind of great triumph for equity.

So let's hold the applause, shall we? Especially with the national debt still looming over the economy like a growing threat, and still another debate coming up soon on raising the debt limit. Well, sure, why economize when you can borrow more? Or just print more, the way the Federal Reserve has been doing? Just be sure to call it Quantitative Easing.

Mr. Mencken may have thought of himself as a cynic about politics in his time, but he hadn't seen anything yet.

It's not exactly news that to the victors of an election belong the spoils, but when the spoilsmen in Washington claim to have saved the country by passing this encyclopedic compilation of tax breaks, subsidies and special favors, they've reached a new height in hypocrisy. Or low.

Between the self-celebration of the politicians who engineered this grab and called it statesmanship, and the gullibility of the pundits who repeated that line, the extent of this gigantic giveaway may go unnoticed. It shouldn't.

Paul Greenberg Archives

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