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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
Oct 20, 2011
/ 22 Tishrei, 5772
A Republic, guaranteed
By
George Will
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
The United States shall guarantee to every state in this
union a republican form of government …
-- U.S. Constitution
DENVER --- Progressives have long lamented the fact that the Framers
designed a Constitution replete with impediments to federal government
activism -- fetters such as federalism itself, enumerated powers, three
branches of government, two rivalrous wings of the legislative branch,
supermajorities, judicial review, presidential vetoes. Colorado
progressives, however, have decided the Constitution has a redeeming
feature -- the infrequently invoked Guarantee Clause (see above).
Their argument, which some conservatives here embrace, is that when
Colorado voters passed an initiative circumscribing their Legislature's
ability to increase taxes, they violated this clause. The plaintiffs in
their lawsuit -- state legislators, local government and education
officials -- want a judge to resolve "the contest between direct democracy
and representative democracy."
In saying that the former attenuates the latter, progressives are not
entirely mistaken. They may, however, be mistaken in thinking this is a
justiciable issue.
In 1992, voters passed the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR), which
stipulates that spending in a given year cannot increase faster than
population growth plus inflation -- if both are, say, 2 percent, spending
can increase only 4 percent. And any revenue exceeding permissible spending
must be rebated to taxpayers, who must approve any tax increase.
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But in 2000, voters, encouraged in their cognitive dissonance by
teachers unions, passed an initiative requiring spending on education in
grades K through 12 to increase significantly faster than overall spending.
This, combined with the inexorable growth of federally mandated Medicaid
spending, meant that as the portion of the budget devoted to primary and
secondary education expands, spending cuts must come from a small and
steadily shrinking fraction of the state's budget.
Furthermore, in spite of the privileged status of education spending,
critics of TABOR, but not the anti-TABOR lawsuit, say TABOR is incompatible
with the state Constitution's requirement of a "thorough and uniform"
education system. What do those two adjectives mean? That is a matter of
opinion -- of political, not judicial, opinion.
The suit challenging TABOR blames it for "a slow, inexorable slide
into fiscal dysfunction." But what constitutes "dysfunction" also is a
political judgment, not a justiciable issue. As is the related charge that
TABOR has rendered the Legislature "unable to raise and appropriate funds"
sufficient to "meet its primary constitutional obligations or provide
services that are essential for a state." What funds are "sufficient" and
what public services are "essential for a state" are perennial questions of
political debate, unsuited to judicial resolution.
So what has the Guarantee Clause got to say about TABOR? Not much.
To the Framers, the noun "republic" was a compound of meanings. The
primary one proscribed monarchs and titled aristocracies (Article I,
Section 10 says "no state shall … grant any title of nobility"). James
Madison, aka the Father of the Constitution, said the purpose of the
Guarantee Clause was to "defend the system against aristocratic or
monarchical innovations." The Framers, according to historian Forrest
McDonald, "were far from agreed as to what republicanism meant, apart from
the absence of hereditary monarchy and hereditary aristocracy."
Still, a secondary but hardly insignificant meaning was that a
republic must have the rule of law, a concept that then implied
disparagement of direct democracy in which "the people" make all decisions
-- legislative, executive and judicial. Hence, a republic has
representative government.
So progressives have a portion of a point: One principle of
representation is that the people do not generally decide issues, they
decide who will decide. Unfortunately for progressives, the achievement of
which they once were very proud was that of getting initiative and
referenda provisions into many state constitutions. It is an old story: Be
careful what you wish for.
One of the "great" differences between "a democracy and a republic,"
said the sainted Madison in America's Scripture (The Federalist Papers, No.
10), is "the delegation of the government, in the latter, to a small number
of citizens elected by the rest." This does not, however, mean that "the
rest" cannot place, even by direct democracy, restrictions on the "small
number." Surely "republic" and "democracy" are not so antagonistic as to be
mutually exclusive categories.
The anti-TABOR brief quotes this from Madison: "A republic, by which I
mean a government in which the scheme of representation takes place. … "
Well. "The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose" ("The Merchant of
Venice") and progressives can quote Madison (again, Federalist 10) for
theirs, even while generally regretting his constitutional architecture.
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