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February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
January 6, 2009
/10 Teves 5769
The dirty joke from Minnesota
By
Wesley Pruden
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
A lot of the venal sins of Congress could be judged pornographic, both politically and otherwise, but we've never had an Official Senate Pornographer before. Sen. Chuck Schumer says Al Franken will fit right in.
"With the Minnesota recount complete," he says, gleefully, "it is now clear that Al Franken won the election." Actually, it isn't clear at all, as Mr. Schumer well knows, even though the Democrats managing the recount declared Mr. Franken the winner yesterday. The Democrats in the Senate are eager to get Al seated quickly because once he's seated among equals a bum is difficult to throw out. There's honor among senators, similar to the honor among thieves. (The difference is that thieves often hold to higher standards.)
We've had ersatz senators before this, men and women who claimed their seats through fraud, trickery and artifice. Few of the Republican senators "elected" from the South during Reconstruction even pretended to be legitimate; being a Democrat in Dixie was all but against the law in the aftermath of the Civil War.
Lyndon Johnson arrived in the Senate on the strength of 87 votes likely stolen in a 1948 recount and became forever "Landslide Lyndon," usually behind his back and much to his chagrin and irritation. Woody Jenkins probably beat Mary Landrieu in Louisiana in 1996, but she was seated on the strength of a few hundred hotly disputed ballots, Louisiana's reputation for high-church ethics and election-day decorum, and the willingness of the majority of senators eager to see no evil (but often speaking evil).
The post-election campaign in Minnesota to deprive Norman Coleman of his seat is remarkable for the way it was done in broad daylight, with everyone watching in a way not possible before the 24/7 glare of modern media.
The Minnesota secretary of state, Mark Ritchie, presided over the recount and it became clear quickly that the Democrats would do whatever was necessary to count Mr. Coleman out, stopping just short of borrowing votes from neighboring Wisconsin and Iowa. He was behind by 215 votes when the official counting stopped, and finished ahead by 225 votes when the recount was concluded. Nearly every dispute over procedure, evidence and judgment was resolved in Al's favor.
Nice work if you can get it. Kim Jong-il and Robert Mugabe should have dispatched their election officials to St. Paul for lessons (and maybe they did).
One member of the canvassing board, state Supreme Court Justice Barry Anderson, concedes that some ballots were likely counted twice, but he says there's not much anybody can do about it. In more than 25 precincts officials counted more ballots than voters; presumably we can put this down to the enthusiasm of high-minded Minnesotans to vote as often as they can. Everyone has a duty to vote, so who can scold a man or woman for going above and beyond the call of duty? Isn't that why Congress awards the Medal of Honor?
If Emerson was right, that consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, the minds of the Democratic canvassers are big and wide, indeed. Officials in one precinct in Hennepin County lost 133 actual ballots during the recount; never mind, they decided, we'll just go with the election-night count. This gave Al 46 extra votes.
But in a Ramsey County precinct, canvassers found more ballots in the recount than precinct judges counted on election night. Oh, good, the canvassers concluded; we'll ignore election night and count the extra ballots. Al got an extra 37 votes. When it was time to count absentee ballots - nearly always the devil's favorite item in the details - and Al was still in the hole, the secretary of state insisted on counting enough ballots that had been set aside for reexamination to put Al up 176 votes.
Unless Mr. Coleman, who leans to the good-loser wing of the Republican Party, gets a case of cold feet the Great Minnesota Ballot Box Raid goes next to the courts, first to St. Paul and maybe eventually to Washington. That's why Mr. Schumer and his merry gang of enablers are eager to seat Al before the ink is dry on the recount.
"Minnesotans like to think that their state isn't like New Jersey or Louisiana," observes the Wall Street Journal, "and typically it isn't."
Well, maybe. But any Minnesotan who thinks that owes Tony Soprano and Carlos Marcello an apology. The Mafia hasn't stolen an election this brazenly since Sam Giancana bought Illinois for John F. Kennedy a half-century ago.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Wesley Pruden is editor in chief of The Washington Times. Comment by clicking here.
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