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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
June 10, 2009
/ 18 Sivan 5769
Watershed moments
By
Paul Greenberg
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
The moment Lyndon Johnson realized Vietnam was a lost cause came when Walter Cronkite, the surest barometer of American public opinion in his time, came out against the war. Uncle Walter, aka The Most Trusted Man in America, was so shaken by the Tet Offensive of 1968 that he announced the war had become unwinnable. The president and commander-in-chief drew the unavoidable conclusion: "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America."
In Vietnam itself, the offensive would turn out to be a military disaster for the Viet Cong. After the smoke had cleared, it turned out American forces had held their ground. And so had our Vietnamese allies. Enemy casualties littered the fields. But it didn't matter. The enemy had won the war for American public opinion and, with it, the war. Our defeat came to be assumed, as in Iraq before the Surge turned the tide. And assumption would eventually become reality. It was a watershed moment.
That moment from the tumultuous Sixties came to mind on seeing a cartoon in The New Yorker magazine; it showed your typical street prophet bearing a sign declaring: "THE END IS STILL COMING!" A couple passing by on the sidewalk stare in amazement as they realize who the man with the sign is. To quote the caption: "Wasn't that Paul Krugman?"
Yes, Paul Krugman, the Princeton professor who has been predicting a second, worldwide Great Depression for years. The recent slump made him appear a prophet. Although by now even he's had to admit that utter catastrophe may yet be avoided. Though he doesn't sound too happy about it. He's still holding out hope for a prolonged period of economic stagnation similar to Japan's Lost Decade.
The appearance of that cartoon may prove another watershed moment. If the time has arrived when The New Yorker, that ever stylish reflection of fashionable American opinion, can have a little fun with Paul Krugman, then perspective (and the American economy) may be returning.
The realization that this recession, too, will pass begins to dawn. It's turning out to be only a recession, if a severe one, or maybe an old-fashioned 19th-century financial panic, but not The End of the World. Unless, of course, the administration's over-reaction to the slump, its attempt to restart the economic engine by flooding it with cheap dollars, sets off a Weimaresque wave of inflation, or a Carteresque stagflation. But for the moment hope is in the air. Especially on the big board in New York.
Can we have passed the watershed?
I have a simple rule when tuning into NPR News in the car. Mainly on the principle of Know Your Enemy. At the first silly comment, or just partisan gibe disguised as objective reporting, I switch over to the classical music station. For the sake of my mental health. Because if I'm not careful, I'll find myself talking back to Nina Totenberg or, even more futile, the insufferable Diane Rehm. I usually have to wait no more than 30 seconds before returning to the classical.
Then I heard the familiar, comforting, inexhaustible voice of Daniel Schorr, all set to regale me with still another account of what he was covering 50 or 60 years ago. How soothing. But wait. This didn't sound like good ol', dull ol', same ol' Daniel Schorr. He was talking about Kim Jong Il's latest series of nuclear blasts, missile launches and bellicose warnings. And, glory be, he was delivering a soliloquy on the folly of appeasing despots, specifically North Korea's sick (in more than one way) little dictator.
Mr. Schorr was soon reprising the futile history of trying to buy off Dear Leader with concessions -- on the part of both the Bush and Clinton administrations. ("The somber fact is that the outside world has just about run out of peaceful options for dealing with the North Korean nuclear threat. Every effort to get Kim Jong Il to give up his aggressive designs has turned out to be a perverse incentive....")
Goodness. The voice was the voice of Daniel Schorr, but the views were those of--John Bolton. That's the former American ambassador to the United Nations who's warned all along that rewarding Pyongyang for its duplicity would lead to, well, just where it has led.
How strange: John Bolton is the diplomatic dean of American neoconservatism, a kind of Daniel Patrick Moynihan of the right, never hesitating to say the unconventional for no better reason than it is obvious. And Daniel Schorr is, well, Daniel Schorr -- the nice, perfectly conventional liberal who hasn't said anything unconventional since ... well, I can't remember when. I pulled over and sat there transfixed. How often do you hear Daniel Schorr channeling John Bolton? It wasn't quite an out-of-body experience, but it was certainly an experience out of the usual political context.
It was a mystery. How had John Bolton managed to sneak into NPR's studios and write a script for Daniel Schorr? Mozart might be waiting just a click away, but I couldn't touch the car radio. I just listened, mesmerized.
It was one of those times to remember when, without drumroll or bugle call, the party line seamlessly changes -- with the ease of the telescreen in George Orwell's 1984 announcing that Oceania was now at war with Eastasia and always had been. Anything to the contrary was now down the memory hole. It had been rendered, in a Nixonian phrase, inoperative.
Most impressive of all, Mr. Schorr didn't skip a beat. NPR's party line had shifted without a tremor. If the forces of inertia in American foreign policy, which don't advocate appeasement explicitly but just sort of drift into it, have lost Daniel Schorr, then they've lost Middle America.
It was, in short, a watershed moment.
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JWR contributor Paul Greenberg, editorial page editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, has won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. Send your comments by clicking here.
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