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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
May 6, 2010
/ 22 Iyar 5770
Still the Optimist
By
Paul Greenberg
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
"Of comfort no man speak . . . ."
"Richard II"
It is difficult now to conjure up the semi-hysterical atmosphere hovering over the American economy this time last year. All was lost, the end was near. Or at least nearish.
Every day's paper brought another harbinger of doom. Paul Krugman, the New York Times' man in the dismal science, was being hailed as our contemporary Cassandra. O, woe was us.
The news was full of jeremiads, complete with accompanying panaceas out of the still new Obama administration, most of them involving expansion of the still new Obama administration. Into everything from Government Motors to health care. For no crisis must go to waste, and the bigger the crisis, the bigger the government (and the national debt) must grow. Therefore this crisis had to be not only big but Great, as in the Great Depression.
That was the message from Congress, the White House, the oh-so-learned punditry, and the ever-talking heads on the telescreen who assured us that even more bad news was on the way. Eeyores proliferated. Even the blues were bluer than ever. ("Since this recession I'm losing my baby/ because the times are getting so hard…." B.B. King.)
We common folk could read all about it in the headlines. ("Tumbling stocks end a bleak week") while the carriage trade got the same message in The New Yorker. In its glossy pages, connoisseurs of collapse could find a complete guide to every variety of economic pessimist: doomers, peakists, dystopians of all 57 varieties. They were all reveling in the bad news.
Depression chic was in. The new, vibrant young president of the country sounded more like a pallbearer. His favorite terms were Catastrophic and Unprecedented. As if he were going to scare us back into prosperity. He kept saying we faced economic conditions unknown since the Great Depression, or maybe the Beginning of Time: "We begin this year and this administration in the midst of an unprecedented crisis that calls for unprecedented action."
Unprecedented? That covers a lot of history indeed, all the history there is. For what is history but a series of precedents? So much for the Crash of '87, aka Black Monday at the time. And the Reagan Recession of '81-'82. (We tend to forget that the Reagan Years had their economic downside, too.) Or the runaway, Weimaresque inflation of the Carter Years. All the way back to Roosevelt Recession of 1937, the recession inside the Depression that followed FDR's decision to crack down on capital in '36. Sure enough, he succeeded. Capital dried up.
Then there were the recurrent Panics of the early 1900s and earlier all through the 1800s. Today's slowly passing recession is really more of an old-fashioned financial panic without a J.P. Morgan to end it with dispatch.
And let's not forget other precedents: The long-running recession that began in 1837, following in the wake of Andrew Jackson's war on the Bank of the United States. (He won, the United States lost.) Or the New Madrid of economic shocks that struck in 1819.
This current, easing recession was anything but unprecedented. But to say so at the time was a lonely experience. There were times when I felt like a minority of one. "The last optimist" was the headline on a column of mine that ran in March 2009.
To keep your head when others all about you are losing theirs … may be just a sign you don't understand the situation.
A year later, the sunshine is breaking through here and there, but there will always be those who hate to give up the gloom. It seems to cheer them. If they can no longer compare these times to the Great Depression without sounding silly, they seem determined to hold on to the moniker, Great Recession. ("All over our country, people who lost their jobs in the Great Recession are looking for work." Barack Obama)
For the greater the recession, the more sectors of the economy the federal government needs to control, right? Pessimism is the natural ally of those who would ever expand government power. Bad times are the health of the state.
Even if the economy isn't ending, then the world is through climate change. And the only way to save it is, as usual, higher taxes.
Those of us who dare point out that this crisis, too, will pass, and indeed is passing, are sure to be accused of cock-eyed optimism. We prefer to think of it as historical perspective. For just as English history may be read as a continuing thesis against revolution, American history may be read as a continuing thesis against pessimism.
Paul Greenberg Archives
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