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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
Sept. 17, 2010
/ 9 Tishrei, 5771
What They Really Think of Us
By
Paul Greenberg
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Rarely does a single remark in the news, whether from politician or pundit, sum up the attitude of a whole class, in this case our betters. Call them the elite, the anointed, the ruling class -- if we would only recognize their superior insight and follow their lead. For they know us better than we know ourselves, at least to hear them tell it. And they do keep trying to tell us. At length. They seem intent on explaining our mysterious refusal to follow their enlightened leadership. But how sum up their whole worldview in a single quote?
It can be done. Just such a remark came in the 2008 presidential campaign, when Barack Obama, one of our elite if there ever was one, was talking confidentially -- how was he to know he was being recorded? -- at a fundraiser in, of course, San Francisco. Explaining why he was meeting such resistance when he ventured into the American heartland, he offered his supporters this little gem of socio-economic insight:
"You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."
Any coincidence between this oh-so-deep psychoanalysis and reality is of course purely coincidental. It's the sort of thing you hear from cocktail-party types who are always trying to explain how best to appeal to "ordinary Americans." You know, the hoi polloi, the masses, the rednecks -- those poor benighted bigots. The kind of rubes who actually like America. And who can look at it without realizing it's just a vast collection of wrongs that need to be righted. Poor hicks, they're really more to be pitied than scorned.
Those who offer such analyses don't seem to realize that there's no such thing as an ordinary American. For each of us has his -- or her -- own eccentricities. Along with the experiences that shaped them. And it's our delight to fool the kind of pols and pollsters who think they've got us figured. The only sure thing you can count on from "ordinary" Americans is that they'll surprise our oh-so-sophisticated analysts every time.
This election year the telling quote that reveals our wannabe intelligentsia in all its condescension comes from, of course, a newspaper columnist -- Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post, who has laid it all out for us simpler types:
"According to polls, Americans are in a mood to hold their breath until they turn blue. Voters appear to be so fed up with the Democrats that they're ready to toss them out in favor of the Republicans -- for whom, according to those same polls, the nation has even greater contempt. This isn't an electoral wave, it's a temper tantrum. ... But there's no mistaking the public mood, and the truth is that it makes no sense. In the punditry business, it's considered bad form to question the essential wisdom of the American people. But at this point, it's impossible to ignore the obvious: The American people are acting like a bunch of spoiled brats."
There. That's telling us. As if there were no good reason for We the People to be disgusted with both parties now that each has had its turn at power, and each has done as dismally as the other.
To some, the public's bipartisan reaction (a plague on both your houses!) might seem perfectly understandable. But to distinguished commentators like Mr. Robinson -- who writes from Washington, naturally -- it's not the politicos who have failed but the people. Here's hoping he feels better now that he's got all that out of his system.
Eugene Robinson's astute analysis of the American mood in 2010 brings to mind the fabled East European parliament that, realizing it had lost popular favor but unwilling to dissolve itself and call new elections, resolved instead to dissolve the people.
In just a few words, this columnist has revealed the true contempt that our leading gliberals have for The People whose true interests they're so sure they're serving.
It's an attitude frequently encountered among those whose only answer to all the assorted grievances aired at tea party rallies is to sneer. It's an attitude that wasn't unknown among Tories toward the first tea party in 1773: Why, those people are incapable of governing themselves. They have no respect for their betters, that rabble. It seems they're angry about taxes and growing government regulation, and they're not taking it any more. In short, they just don't understand what's best for them.
It was the rare member of the British parliament of the time, like Edmund Burke, who could see that "a great empire and little minds go ill together," to quote his prescient address, "On Conciliation With America." Today a great republic goes together no better with minds so small they dismiss any criticism from the people as a temper tantrum.
As the midterm elections approach like a freight train gathering momentum, the leaders of both parties, not to mention us all-knowing columnists, would do well to explore a little conciliation with America ourselves.
Paul Greenberg Archives
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