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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. 27, 2011 / 28 Elul, 5771

Where's the (Tea) Party?

By Paul Greenberg




http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Talk about the wish being father to the thought. Harry Reid, leader of the now diminished Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate, once said the Tea Party was a reaction to hard times and would disappear when the economy improves.

Really?

In just how many ways is that diagnosis of the Tea Party faulty?

Just to begin with, the growth of the Tea Party on the American scene wasn't so much a reaction to the economic slump as to how the establishment -- of both parties -- dealt with it. That is, by spending more instead of less, and by expanding government power instead of just letting the Federal Reserve reorganize failing banks and stop there, as in the past.

Instead, Washington preferred to favor some investment houses (Goldman Sachs) while letting others go under (Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers) without any fair or uniform standard.

While they were at it, the feds took over whole swaths of the American economy. For prominent examples: Government Motors, the AIG deal, and the makeover/takeover of American health care, which has only begun.

Meanwhile, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the twin tumors that metastasized into the Panic of '08-09, are still around churning out debt. No wonder so many Americans reacted, and not favorably.

But economics is only part of the Tea Party's concerns. It's come to represent a whole grab bag of objections to the way things have been going in this country. If you've got a complaint, or even an underlying concern about the state of the Union, the Tea Party's got a place for you. It's one of those amorphous socio-political phenomena that appear from time to time rather than a planned development, a howl rather than a program.

Will it disappear? Probably. Eventually. Whatever the problems with Harry Reid's diagnosis of the Tea Party, his prognosis is supported by the history of other American protest movements. Having influenced the major political parties, they tend to fade away. (What ever happened to the Greenback, Free Silver and Single Tax movements, anyway?)

When it comes to the Tea Party, not even its own members seem interested in becoming a political party, let alone one of the Big Two. Good decision. That way, a popular movement doesn't have to deal with problems of party organization, party platforms or party consensus.

The Tea Party's members seem to drift in and out of its decentralized ranks depending on the next big outrage or the proximity of a rally. It's not even clear just how many folks consider themselves members of the Tea Party or just sympathizers.

But the movement does serve as a useful scapegoat for kneejerk liberals, or is it kneejerk progressives by now? Not too long ago, the Tea Party was being convicted, without benefit of trial, for the deranged attacks on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and prominent friends at Tucson.

But the Tea Party is more a random collection of dissatisfactions than any kind of conspiracy. It's hard to imagine its having come into existence if the politicians -- of either major party -- inspired much confidence. Politics, like nature, abhors a vacuum. And the Tea Party fills one. At least with indignation.

When political parties don't respond to public discontent, more or less spontaneous political phenomena like the Tea Party will arise. No matter what they call themselves -- populists, progressives or just patriots. And no matter what the country's more sedate class calls Those People, they have earned a hearing. They have something worth saying, and even heeding. Even if it's only: Enough!

A phenomenon like the Tea Party doesn't come from nowhere, but out of an instinctive understanding of where we are, whither we are tending, and that it is time to turn around.

To think of the Tea Party as just an economic phenomenon is to demonstrate a lack of historical perspective. And a general insensibility to the current American mood. Which is what led the Democratic Party to its comeuppance in the last midterm elections.

There's a reason Nancy Pelosi is now the former speaker of the House, And why the Democratic majority in the Senate led by Harry Reid is now much slimmer. Both leaders embody the hubris and historical amnesia (the two tend to go together) that invite a rebuke from the electorate. Sure enough, the voters delivered it last November. And may do so again the next.

Paul Greenberg Archives

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