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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
June 27, 2007
/ 11 Tamuz, 5767
Notes on today's constitutional crisis
By
Paul Greenberg
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Another day, another constitutional crisis. Or so the loyal opposition says. When the president decided to fire a handful of federal prosecutors who serve at his pleasure and replace them with appointees he liked better, just as the U.S. Constitution provides, he was accused of … violating the Constitution. Also of introducing politics into political appointments. In short, the chief executive of the United States was accused of hiring, firing and generally acting like a chief executive. Outrageous.
Somehow, when a president named Bill Clinton demanded the resignations of every single federal prosecutor in the country, I can't remember these same partisans who now yell Constitutional Crisis at the drop of a U.S. Attorney making a peep. In partisan politics, it's who takes the action our guy or theirs that makes it right or wrong, not the action itself.
But all that was yesterday's constitutional crisis and general foofaraw. Today, it's the vice president who is, as is his habit, out to keep his confidential papers confidential, or maybe just all his papers.
It seems that, for the past few years, the vice president's office has been ignoring an executive order that requires every "agency" or "entity" within the executive branch to tell the Security Oversight Office (a name that could have come out of "1984" or maybe the cult movie "Brazil") how much material it classifies or declassifies, that is, keeps secret or releases to the public.
The vice president claims his office doesn't fit the definition of a federal agency within the meaning of that executive order, which in any event was not intended to cover his office. Naturally enough, the executive who issued that order namely, the president of the United States agrees with him. They're on the same team.
Just as naturally, a Democratic Congress is building up a head of rhetorical steam and preparing to investigate this latest Constitutional Crisis.
This is how the two-party system (and the constitutional system of checks and balances in general) is supposed to work, and clearly does.
It wouldn't do, of course, for this administration to have announced a few years back that both the president's office and the vice president's were not subject to the president's order. That would have been too simple, above-board and open. It might have been criticized. (And also avoided this whole contretemps in a teapot that's now erupted.) So the administration kept that interpretation of its order secret, or at least unannounced. How Cheneyesque.
This habitual, obsessive and in the end self-destructive secrecy is all so unnecessary and irritating. But does that mean it's illegal? Apparently so, to hear Ron Wyden, the very Democratic senator from Oregon, tell it. "The vice president is saying he's above the law," says Senator Wyden, "and the fact of the matter is, legal scholars are going to say this is preposterous."
Don't you love people who tell you what you're saying? Don't you love it when they put words in your mouth, the better to refute them? Actually, the vice president isn't saying he's above the law but only claiming that he's exempt from an executive order. What's more, the executive who issued it agrees with him.
As for what the legal scholars will say, each side can be depended on to produce its own in plenitude. You could line up all the legal scholars in the world and they still wouldn't reach a conclusion in a controversy like this. That's why cases should be tried by courts not by U.S. senators or, for that matter, newspaper columnists.
By now any sign of logic in this dispute has been thoroughly smudged by a lot of gratuitous argument over whether the vice president is a member of the executive or legislative branch of the federal government. If the executive, his critics argue, he would be subject to the executive order he's actually been exempted from. (You still with us?) But if he were a member of the legislative branch, the order would not apply. So which branch does he belong to?
The vice president is, of course, a member of both those branches, depending on whether he's presiding over the U.S. Senate, a legislative body, or acting in an executive capacity when advising the president or working together with the Cabinet. In either event, the question is scarcely central to this hoked-up "crisis."
The legalistic grandiloquence about what The Experts would say has only begun. In a country where all hold the Constitution sacred and decisive, the central political question is always going to be which party is truer to the Constitution and its vision. So no one should be surprised that the usual brigade of lawyers is being turned out by both sides.
"There is hardly a political question in the United States," the venerable Tocqueville observed long ago, "that does not sooner or later turn into a judicial one." When that sage was writing, Andrew Jackson was the president accused of violating the Constitution. Presidents change, the accusation doesn't. As usual, our French visitor proved not only a percipient observer but a remarkable prophet as well.
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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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