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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 Jan. 13, 2006 / 13 Teves, 5766

In search of a leader to clean House — and Senate

By Jack Kelly

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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | In 1994, Republicans were swept to power in Congress chiefly because of public disgust over a series of scandals involving, mostly, Democrats.


The GOP vowed to change things. But barely a decade later, Republicans in Congress largely have become what they once campaigned against.


Much of the responsibility for this sad state of affairs rests with Rep. Tom Delay of Texas, until last September the House Majority Leader. Rather than seeking to diminish the untoward influence of lobbyists in Washington, Delay strove to replace Democrat lobbyists as the chief influence peddlers with GOP ones.


In Washington D.C. on Jan. 3rd, lobbyist Jack Abramoff pled guilty to fraud, tax evasion, and conspiracy to bribe public officials. A day later in Miami, he pled guilty to fraud and conspiracy in his purchase of a fleet of casino boats in Florida.


Mr. Abramoff's principal victims were indian tribes who owned casinos, who paid Mr. Abramoff's firm $82 million to help them obtain gaming licenses, or to prevent rival tribes from getting them.


Mr. Abramoff is a friend of Rep. Delay, and his business partner, Michael Scanlon (who pled guilty earlier) was once Mr. Delay's press secretary.


So maybe Ronnie Earle, the highly partisan Democratic district attorney of Travis County (Austin), Texas, did Republicans a favor when he indicted Rep. Delay on what looks to me like a trumped up charge. GOP rules require a leader to step down if he is indicted.


Mr. Abramoff will get a shorter sentence in exchange for his testimony against Members of Congress, congressional aides, and Interior Department officials who did favors for him.


The only congressman mentioned in the plea agreement is Bob Ney, a Republican from Ohio. The court papers say Rep. Ney helped obtain a visa for the relative of a client; put comments in the Congressional Record supporting Mr. Abramoff's Florida casino bid, and offered legislative language that would have permitted a tribe in Texas to reopen a casino.


If Rep. Ney did these things as an explicit quid pro quo for the gifts and campaign contributions Mr. Abramoff and his clients showered upon him, he committed a crime.


But what is really criminal about Washington is not what is illegal, but what is legal. If the quid pro quo were merely implicit, if Mr. Abramoff was merely buying access and goodwill with his gifts and contributions, then Rep. Ney committed no crime, which is not the same as saying he did nothing wrong.


And if there was no explicit quid pro quo, then Rep. Ney did no more than what nearly every other member of Congress is doing. Our whole system of campaign finance is based on bribery and extortion. Lobbyists don't provide congressmen with campaign funds or golf outings in Scotland out of the goodness of their hearts. They expect something in return. And usually they get it.


Though Mr. Ney was the only Member mentioned in court documents, the Justice department is looking closely at four other lawmakers, the Washington Times reported Wednesday.


Two — Sen. Conrad Burns of Montana and Rep. J.D. Hayworth of Arizona — are Republicans. But the other two are Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, and Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee. This will complicate efforts to portray this as solely a Republican scandal, as will the fact that 40 of the 45 Democrats in the senate received campaign contributions from Mr. Abramoff or his clients.


The federal budget is bloated grotesquely by "earmarks" for special interest groups. There will be no solution until we recognize corruption in Washington is systemic and bipartisan. Term limits would help. Those most likely to succumb to the blandishments of lobbyists are those who've been in Washington for quite a while.


But barely disguised bribery will be the rule as long as lawmakers must rely on special interest groups for the bulk of their campaign funds.


Candidates for federal office should be permitted to accept contributions only from people who are registered to vote in the states from which they are seeking election, or from the political party to which they belong. Only when lobbyists can no longer do big favors for our lawmakers will our lawmakers stop doing big favors for lobbyists.

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JWR contributor Jack Kelly, a former Marine and Green Beret, was a deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force in the Reagan administration. Comment by clicking here.

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