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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 Nov. 3, 2012/ 18 Tishrei, 5773

A word for freedom/ The president heard from at last

By Paul Greenberg




http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | They set a table for the president of the United States in the presence of his country's enemies at this year's session of the UN General Assembly. But this time, instead of apologizing for American principles, Barack Obama stepped forward to defend them -- after weeks of pussyfooting around them. And they were first principles, too, as in the First Amendment with its words about freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

What a refreshing change from the quivering silence, followed by fulsome apologias, with which Washington first greeted the murderous assaults on our legations throughout the Islamic world. This time, the president's voice was clear, direct, forceful, grounded in American history and principles:

"Americans have fought and died around the globe to protect the right of all people to express their views -- even views that we disagree with." Freedom of speech, he pointed out, is inseparable from freedom of religion, for "efforts to restrict speech can become a tool to silence critics or oppress minorities. ... Given the power of faith in our lives and the passion that religious differences can inflame, the strongest weapon against hateful speech is not repression, it is more speech."

An Oliver Wendell Holmes or Louis Dembitz Brandeis could scarcely have put the American faith in freedom better. Yes, the president's speech contained the usual boilerplate distancing this country from that stupid little video insulting the Prophet Mohammed -- the one that has been used as an excuse for arson and murder by al-Qaida types, and by all those who seek to appease them. As if it were necessary to explain to civilized people that, because a free country allows bad ideas to be expressed, it must mean we endorse them.

This time, it was the president's defense of American freedoms that captured the headlines, and should have. That was the part of his speech that was new -- and news. Good news, welcome news. This president can listen to his critics after all, and even change course.

It was particularly refreshing to hear Barack Obama defend freedom of religion after all his administration has done, and continues to do, to restrict that freedom for faiths who still believe in the sanctity of human life, specifically the Roman Catholic Church.

This administration has tried to tell churches what teachers they must hire or fire in their religious schools, and force Catholic schools, hospitals and universities to subsidize practices that go against the church's beliefs -- like contraception, sterilization and abortion. That struggle between a church and a state seeking to intrude on its beliefs continues even as the president utters fine words about freedom of religion.

But at least he said the right words in this occasion. Which is more than one can say for a law professor at the University of Arkansas -- one Steve Sheppard. The professor contends that this shady little video that has been inflated into a cause célèbre from Tunis to Bangladesh should have been censored by our government.

"We shouldn't allow speech that's designed to do nothing but hurt," the professor said the other day. So why not just call it thoughtcrime and squelch it? Mahmoud Ahmadinejad couldn't have put the case against freedom of speech any better, or worse.

Do you think the professor has reviewed the First Amendment lately? It is quite explicit. It says Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech. It doesn't say Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech except when that speech hurts other people's feelings, or offends public opinion abroad, or is used as an excuse to attack our embassies and kill our diplomats. It just says no law. You'd think that would be clear enough even for a member of our professoriate. Apparently it isn't.

Ah, well, there is some consolation: At least the professor is teaching law, not logic or reading.

In another bulletin from the frontiers of civilization, in this case New York City, a good ol' boy from Arkansas -- Greg Nelson of Fayetteville, Ark., -- made the news, and garnered plaudits from a New York tabloid, by pushing around an Iranian envoy on the sidewalks of New York.

That is not how Americans should treat foreign diplomats, or any guest of our country. It is the kind of behavior that can safely be left to foreign mobs. But it seems Americans, too, aren't free from mob passions, as anybody who made it through the bad old Faubusian days in the South can testify.

Let this much be said in defense, well, in mitigation of Greg Nelson's behavior: Even he now regrets it. "I wish I hadn't done that," he says. "I'm not a violent man. I got caught up in all the excitement." Kind of like the rabble in Benghazi or Cairo.

The ultimate defense of American freedoms, like freedom of speech, lies not in laws and constitutions, but in something within a free people: self-control. Without it, all the grand speeches in the world won't much matter. Learned Hand said it: "Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it."

Paul Greenberg Archives

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