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May 25, 2012
Mark Clayton: Is Hillary's State Dept. hacking Al Qaeda? Not quite
Erika Bolstad: Temple cancels Wasserman Schultz speech
The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman: The former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with contemporary Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Sweet Noodle Kugel with Cheese, Key Lime Curd, Calsone Casserole Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Sun-dried tomatoes and Olives, Baked Tilapia with Pepper Cheese Cream and Brown Sugar Shortbread
May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
April 7, 2010
/ 23 Nissan 5770
The Eye of the Storm
By
Paul Greenberg
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
There were some big doings in the nation's capital the other celebratory day. A new health-care bill had been passed at last. Whatever its official title, its unofficial one in the headlines was Landmark Health Care Bill. A festive signing was held in the White House with souvenir pens all around. The president couldn't get through his remarks without being interrupted by standing ovations. Happy Days Are Here Again!
All rites were observed in fulsome full, including the mandatory obscenity whispered into the president's ear by his vice. ("This is a big f deal.") Not since Andrew Johnson has the country had a vice president so sure to provide embarrassment on every public occasion. There's no ceremonial event Joe Biden can't make uncomfortable. The happy time when vice presidents were seen and not heard passed long ago. Regrettably.
It was all so Washington, 2010. Or maybe Rome. What a pity Tacitus is no longer with us. It would all be familiar to that Roman historian and gossip the republic become empire, the fawning tributes from subjects to Caesar, the sports spectaculars and culture of celebrity, the Jewish wars, and most of all the pretentiousness. As for the mere populace, it watches and waits, warily.
A second, revised health-care bill and doorstopper correcting the first, and about as encyclopedic, was soon on its way to the president's desk. Call it an encore. Who could ask for anything more?
So is everybody feeling healthier now?
Didn't think so.
It's all over now, including the shouting. Only the clean-up awaits. And the litigation, of course. And the explanations of how all the provisions and counter-provisions fit together, if they do. And the presidential sales job continues. It never ceases. Instead of relief after all the debates and votes, a curious lull has set in. One thinks of New Orleans after Katrina had passed with what, at first, looked like only a glancing blow at the city. Decompression was setting in. People were coming back onto the streets....
Then the levees gave way.
So is this the calm after the storm or before one? Why not both? All is outwardly calm, inwardly apprehensive. As if this battered old republic and shiny new mass-democracy were waiting for the next shock wave to hit.
This is what it must be like entering the eye of a hurricane. The torrential downpour has ceased. The air is still. But for how long?
The clean-up crews are already busy. The funny figures that got this Landmark Health-Care Bill and circus past the Congressional Budget Office will now have to be rectified. They have served their purpose, which was to pass the bill, not say how much it will really cost.
Surely no one believes the figures the administration submitted to the CBO. As one old hand at this kind of fiscal legerdemain described the whole, computerized process of obtaining the CBO's imprimatur: Fantasy In, Fantasy Out.
And surely no one, especially in government, believes those cuts in Medicare and in reimbursements to physicians and hospitals will ever actually go into effect. Those were for accounting purposes only, like the government bonds that are supposed to back up Social Security.
The higher taxes that will be needed to finance this Lehman Bros. of health care aren't scheduled to go into effect until the mid-term elections are safely past. Or maybe the next presidential election. Various benefits are to come first. How prudent, politically if not fiscally.
It's an old sell: Buy now and pay later, if ever. Just put the bill on what the Brits call the never-never. No one can know what all these thousands of pages of health-care legislation amount to, only that they'll need to followed by hundreds of thousands of pages of regulation.
Here's the only sure result of this whirlwind now being sown: more and more massive deficits. At last report, this 44th president of the United States was running up a national debt greater than all his 43 predecessors combined and that was before Obamacare became fuzzy law. The sky ceased to be the limit long ago; we're far out in fiscal space now. Unmoored.
For the first time since my memory runneth not to the contrary, not just fiscal nerds but real live voters are beginning to take deficits seriously. Certainly the bond market is. There is talk of the U.S. government's losing its AAA rating. The U.S. Government. Investors are showing more confidence in Warren Buffett's bonds than Timothy Geithner's. At last people have started talking about the herd of elephants in the room. Maybe this isn't a lull in politics after all; maybe it's just shock setting in. Before the explosion of fury.
Paul Greenberg Archives
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