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May 22, 2013

John Thorne: They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman

John Rosemond: 'Disciplinary math' adds up to parental successl

Warren Richey: Are prayers before public meetings OK? Supreme Court to decide
Rick Montgomery: Use of ADHD drugs as study aid raises concern on campuses

Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D.: 6 convincing reasons you should keep carbs in your diet

Eoin O'Carroll: Scientists examine nothing, find something

The Kosher Gourmet by Carole Kotkin: This soup is made from one of the great pleasures of spring: A wonderful pairing of rosy color and earthy tang

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 Sept. 4, 2008 / 4 Elul 5768

Sarah who?

By Paul Greenberg


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Old dogs can learn new tricks after all. John McCain fooled us all, again.


This time the old rascal went north to Alaska for his running mate. He got the whole o-so-savvy commentariat rummaging through the Internet trying to find out just who is this Sarah Palin. Is that Sarah with the "H" or without? Pay-lin? How ya spell that? Sweetheart, get me rewrite!


One thing for sure: A McCain administration — is that the first time I've used that term? Does that mean it's becoming possible? — could certainly be trusted to keep national security secrets. At least to judge by how complete a surprise his vice presidential pick turned out to be. And how many false leads he scattered about. Talk about camouflage. Here all these prospective veeps, properly male, were rehearsing their acceptance speeches in their minds and now . . . Sarah Who?


After the first shock and delight — Hey, it's a woman! Hey, an Alaskan! Hey and best of all, she ain't Mitt Romney! — there comes the first impression. And it's good. Good enough to make this eternal optimist forget Geraldine Ferraro and Spiro T. Agnew, a couple of other surprise vice-presidential nominees that the Head of the Ticket thought was a good idea at the time. Uh, oh. Can there be Dan Quayle hidden behind that appealing facade?


But as the scattered pieces of Sarah Palin's biography come together, a picture begins to form. And it's as attractive as a poster of Beautiful Scenic Alaska.


Consider: Mother of five. Small-town mayor. Governor. Tough. Outspoken. Reformer. No friend of the party machine. Approval ratings somewhere in the low 80s. No, that's not a typo. The 80s. George W. Bush, eat your heart out. The lady must be doing something right up there in the frozen north. Lifelong member of the NRA. Married to a commercial fisherman, who's also some kind of snowmobile champ, she was a journalist before going straight. In her youth, runner-up for Miss Alaska. Now strait-laced, old-fashioned Republican but with a wide populist streak. Civil yet firm. Corruption fighter. She won't even allow lobbyists into her governor's office on the third floor of Alaska's tiny state capitol at Juneau.


As for her personal trials and tribulations, aka Scandals now that she's in the national spotlight, they sound a lot like a capsule picture of The American Family, 2008, God bless her and hers. Who can't identify? Who doesn't have a family and all that comes with it?


Family values? Pro-life? The woman doesn't have to say a word to assure anybody on that score. Just look at that family photo. Was a union member, too. A reminder that there's a difference between union members and their bosses.


Every entry in her biographical file appeals. I can feel the call of the identity politics I've been badmouthing for years.


And those schoolmarm glasses. I think I'm in love. She's probably got antlers on her living room wall and a gun rack in her pickup truck. Do you think she does the two-step? Yee-hah!


Then the first impression begins to solidify: Here's someone who's demanding, most of all of herself. I've got this instinctive impulse to stand up straight, salute, and shout: Yes, ma'am! Wilco!


Always reserving the right to tear the lady apart in snarky columns to come, my first reaction: a masterstroke. Congratulations, John McCain. Sir.


The scandalmongering can come later. Indeed, it's already begun. You'll hear a lot of things about the lady. Order up a carload of salt.


I write this surrounded by a sea of shining shards that used to be a glass ceiling. Hillary Clinton put 18 million cracks in it this year, and now Sarah Palin has broken right through it. Naturally she'll be attacked as too inexperienced for the job. By supporters of . . . Barack Obama for the top job. End of argument.


Hey, what a country. I know that's an old line, but it always sounds new.


Like America herself. Tell me again that John McCain is somehow a threat to the American dream. All of Barack Obama's stirring attacks in his foamy acceptance speech seem to have gone flat overnight.


Old John McCain is starting to look young at heart, and young in mind. And Joe Biden just old. Talk about surprises: Senator Biden may be in for a few in that vice presidential debate. Note another telling little detail in the lady's curriculum vitae: Sarah Palin, aka Sarah Barracuda back then, was a point guard on her high school basketball team. What a contrast she'll make with the slick senator from Delaware. She's genuine.

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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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