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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
Jan. 25, 2011
/ 20 Shevat, 5771
A night to cheer, and to stay awake
By
Wesley Pruden
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Tonight's one of the nights groupies live for, the blatherfest called the State of the Union speech. Presidents usually exhaust their supply of clichés until the spring thaw.
This year's cliché of choice is "civility," and it's a tired old chestnut already. Civility should be a noun we rarely use, because the word is only a synonym for the "good manners" that went out of style decades ago. Presidents campaign on sentiment now but sentiment is eventually overtaken by reality. "We campaign in poetry," Mario Cuomo famously said, "but we govern in prose." So true.
Mr. Obama, who does sentiment well, will no doubt be unable to resist the temptation to lapse into sentiment in his take on the State of the Union. He should take care. Invocations of tragedy, however well meant, easily become exploitation of someone else's suffering. Even he won't be believable scolding others for poisoning the stew with harsh words, since he has used a few himself ("if the Republicans bring a knife to the fight, we'll bring a gun"). He may be tempted to throw a little tapioca to the majority of folk the pollsters say are appalled by the over-the-top craziness abroad in the land, but such polling leads to misleading conclusions. Many Americans are appalled by the right, but probably more are appalled by the left, as we saw in the aftermath of Tucson. The pundits who tried to blame Sarah Palin and her friends for all the grief and woe in the land woke up on the third day with undigested egg on their faces.
The only way the president can employ the jujitsu to turn Republican grassroots anger over earmarks, runaway spending and congressional corruption against his newly empowered tormentors in Congress, says Michael Waldman, President Clinton's chief speechwriter, is "to leapfrog the Republicans in Congress by proposing strong, really bold reforms and make [the Republicans] try to catch up." But the lessons taught last November is that the peasants have caught on to the arts of euphemism. Devising a way to pit what Mr. Waldman calls the public's "deficit anxiety" against the "tax-cut hunger of the Republican elites" is only a badly disguised special pleading for more taxes.
Even the atmospherics of this State of the Union are dramatically different from recent years past. The president will still have Joe Biden at his side, laughing at his witty asides and grinning on cue when the president needs a little evidence of faux bonhomie. But instead of Nancy Pelosi leaping to her feet like Jill-in-the-box to applaud the president's every cough and pause, he'll have the dour John Boehner wiping away tears, probably of pique.
Mr. Obama has been so chastened by the November massacre that he might have kind words for a few Republicans, at least some of those safely dead, and reprise Republican themes of the past. In an op-ed in USA Today, Mr. Obama pays tribute to Ronald Reagan, not as a curiosity but as a man whose values could be useful to a modern Democratic president eager to climb out of a hole wrought by his own shovel: "[Mr. Reagan] had faith in the American promise; in the importance of reaffirming values like hard work and personal responsibility, and in his own unique ability to inspire others to greatness."
Everyone wants to write Mr. Obama's speech. Old White House speechwriters lapse into dreaded columny. Peggy Noonan, who wrote great stuff for George Bush the Elder, thinks Mr. Obama can knock it out of the park (or at least hit a clean Texas Leaguer into short centerfield) if he rises above himself to say things "simply, clearly, and sparingly," as the elder Mr. Bush did on occasion (". . . read my lips . . . "). But Mr. Obama, like most presidents on this occasion, is more likely to talk too much. "He says too many words, and they're not especially interesting words," says Prof. Noonan, writing in the Wall Street Journal. "They're dull and bureaucratic or windy and vague, too round and soft to pierce and enter your brain."
Still, they're sure to be "civil," in keeping with the season's cliche. Republicans and Democrats have been assigned to sit next to each other to avoid 'incidents" of fun and spontaneity. Nobody will heckle as earlier State of the Union audiences heckled FDR and Harry Truman. Keep it dull, that's the recipe.
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JWR contributor Wesley Pruden is editor emeritus of The Washington Times. Comment by clicking here.
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