May 16, 2008 Rabbi Hillel Goldberg: Torah talk 'lost in translation'? Diana West: Israel is not a freedom franchise, Mr. President Caroline B. Glick: Understanding Hizbullah's power play JWisdom: Real estate and real living by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky May 15, 2008 Jonathan Tobin: Finding a Reason to Do Nothing Oline H. Cogdill: Jesse Kellerman paints art world tale in brilliant strokes in 'The Genius' JWisdom: Blake Nordstrom Speaking! by Sara Yoheved Rigler May 14, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Snitching to the IRS The Kosher Gourmet by Jill Wendholt Silva: Spring greens with fennel and herbs JWisdom: A Righteous Gentile by Rabbi Mordechai Becher May 13, 2008 Jonathan Mark: For pro-Israel voters, Obama's middle name should be the least of their concerns Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: The Leaker Shield Act JWisdom: Why You & I Never Die: A Jewish View of Immortality, Part II by Rabbi David Aaron May 12, 2008 Chosen Words: A newsletter for personal and spiritual growth gleaned from classic biblical and other sources that will help you enhance your day to day life. Likely the most constructive three minutes you will spend today Mark Steyn: Israel's 'doom' could also be Europe's JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: When Faith Meets Fate, Part One May 9, 2008 Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Reverence, Yes; Worship, No Mona Charen: Did Israel Drive Out the Arabs 60 Years Ago? JWisdom: Ultimate opportunities by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky May 8, 2008 Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Israel at 3,500+ Jonathan Tobin: Still Fighting the Same War Steven Plaut: How ‘nakba’ proves the fiction of a Palestinian Nation JWisdom: Taking Israel for Granted? by Rabbi Mordechai Becher May 7, 2008 Rabbi Hillel Goldberg: Israel is irrelevant to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Dion Nissenbaum: Latest Olmert scandal could derail efforts to force Israel's compromises JWisdom: My Inner Ventriloquist by Sara Yoheved Rigler May 6, 2008 Caroline B. Glick: Anti-Zionism at 60 The Kosher Gourmet By Ethel G. Hofman: In honor of Israel's 60th anniversary, the former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with a smorgasbord featuring the taste and essence of the Jewish homeland JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Jewish Deer in Nazi Headlights May 5, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Busy work Jonathan Mark: Remarkable half-century old Mike Wallace interview with Abba Eban puts current anti-Israel sentiment into perspective May 2, 2008 Rabbi Berel Wein: Rote religiosity Caroline B. Glick: Whitewashing Hamas JWisdom: Parent trap? May 1, 2008 David Zwiebel: Faith communities can learn from Orthodox Jews in stimulating private philanthropy for religious education George Friedman and Peter Zeihan of Stratfor: The Shift Toward an Israeli-Syrian Agreement JWisdom: It's time to wake up by Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis April 30, 2008 Jonathan Tobin: Pennsylvania's Democratic slugfest may leave some Jewish votes up for grabs The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Fresh herbs, sauteed veal and tiny creamer potatoes makes a light spring dinner JWisdom: How to Build a Mentch by Rabbi Mordechai Becher April 29, 2008 Daniel Pipes: Barack Obama's Muslim Childhood Joel Brinkley: On human rights, the U.N. once again strikes out JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: When The Truth is Unbelievable April 28, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q: I'm often stuck in the doctor's waiting room for hours! Doesn't he owe me something for my wasted time? Steven Emerson: New U.S. government policy advises agencies to avoid using some of the very same words that make up terror groups' names JWisdom: Why You & I Never Die: A Jewish View of Immortality, Part I by Rabbi David Aaron April 25, 2008 Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg: Schadenfreude isn't kosher for Passover --- or at any other time Rabbi Berel Wein: The secret of how the data bank of memory is transferred from one generation to the next JWisdom: Stepping Up to A Higher Spiritual Life by Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen, Part III April 24, 2008 Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: The successful failure Fred Burton and Scott Stewart of Stratfor: Placing the terrorist threat to the food supply in perspective JWisdom: Stepping Up to A Higher Spiritual Life by Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen, Part II April 23, 2008 Connie Ogle: An intricate game of a novel Jonathan Tobin: Making Sense of the 'J Street' Jive JWisdom: Stepping Up to A Higher Spiritual Life by Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen April 22, 2008 Jonathan Rosenblum: Why Israel's 'Leaven law' matters Caroline B. Glick: Obama the Savior April 18, 2008 Rabbi Harvey Belovski: Multimedia tool of antiquity Caroline B. Glick: Revealed Truths vs. revealed lies JWisdom: More than miracles by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky April 17, 2008 Rabbi Avi Shafran: Deconstructing Dayeinu Rabbi Elazar Meisels: Is innovation at the Seder a slap at tradition? JWisdom: Discovering Your Divine Mission, Part III by Rabbi David Aaron April 16, 2008 Jonathan Tobin: A Prayer for Sderot's Children Ethel G. Hofman: Sumptuous Seder JWisdom: The Divine is in the details by Rabbi Mordechai Becher April 15, 2008 Rabbi Dovid Zauderer: Let Charlton Heston Go! Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Jimma, tyranny's enabler JWisdom: Relationships: Beyond Mars & Venus, Part IV by Dr. Lisa Aiken April 14, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: The Snitching Supervisor Jonathan Tobin: Forget the Fun and Games! JWisdom: Sincerity is Valued Most by Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D. April 11, 2008 Rabbi David Gutterman: A Mystery in the Middle East Caroline B. Glick: Why Ahmadinejad smiles JWisdom: Elevated illness by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky April 10, 2008 Stratfor Intelligence Briefing by George Friedman: A Mystery in the Middle East The Kosher Gourmet By Steve Petusevsky: The spring elegance of asparagus JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: The Power of Rational Lies April 9, 2008 Michael Feldberg: An all but forgotten Colonial doctor who put his Jewish values before his life Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkel's "Everything's Relative" gets philosophical JWisdom: Four Rabbis in Bnei Brak by Rabbi Mordechai Becher April 8, 2008 Caroline Glick: Covering for the enemy Elliot B. Gertel: 'House' goes Hasidic JWisdom: Relationships: Beyond Mars & Venus, Part III by Dr. Lisa Aiken April 7, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q: I have a translating business. Recently someone asked me to translate some financial documents that are clearly forged. Should I agree? Jonathan Rosenblum : Israel is unwittingly helping to fuel the international campaign of delegitimization against it JWisdom: Matzah and leaven as a life philosophy by Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D. April 4, 2008 Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The Mystery of Suffering Caroline B. Glick: Fear of democracy JWisdom: Dirty Jews by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky April 3, 2008 Rabbi Y. Y. Rubinstein: Parents --- and the children who would be them The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Manweiler: Tempted by restaurant dressings? Don't be. Here are recipes that can be made at home, healthier! JWisdom: The importance of retaining a 'slave mentality' by Rabbi Mordechai Becher April 2, 2008 Mitch Albom: Child abuse, disguised as faith Jonathan Tobin: Unreasonable Accommodations JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith with Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Eliminating Jewish Influence over Germans March 22, 2007 J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !) Oct. 29, 2003 Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review May 6, 2008 / 1 Iyar 5768 GOP seeks order to primary chaos By Roger Simon http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Is our current system of selecting presidential candidates doomed? It certainly is under attack. And that's because it has become so messy. It often starts with a fight over whether Iowa and New Hampshire will go first, and then the rest of the states jostle and elbow each other to move up close behind them. This year has been downright chaotic. We have two "rogue" states on the Democratic side that have been stripped of all their delegates, and five "semi-rogue" states on the Republican side that have been stripped of half of them. And the Democrats are at an ethical crossroads over whether superdelegates should overturn the choice of pledged delegates. It has all been very exhausting, which is to say fun. Though I realize not everybody has found it as jolly as I have. "The most glaring weakness of American democracy is the primary process," according to Jim Leach, a former Republican congressman from Iowa and currently the director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard. (Actually, I think the most glaring weakness of American democracy may be the quality of the politicians it produces. But we can leave that for another day.) Leach convened a conference at Harvard last week that included members of Congress, members of the Democratic and Republican national committees, state party chairmen, state secretaries of state, campaign consultants, academics and journalists. In past elections, most of the stuff discussed would have been considered "deep in the weeds," but this year there has been an intense concentration on the process itself. (Issues? We don't need no stinkin' issues.) There are at least four major plans kicking around in the two parties to reform the nominating process, and Congress is also considering a reform plan, though nobody knows if Congress has the constitutional authority to intervene. All the plans group states into pods or regions and then rotate the pods or regions so a different one would go first every four years. Some plans would still let Iowa and New Hampshire go first, and some would not. For any plan to be adopted by both parties and the individual states would require an extraordinary amount of cooperation and goodwill and a commitment to the belief that stability and order is better than turmoil and disarray. Which is why I think none ever will be adopted. But the Republican Party is on its way to a valiant try, its Rules Committee having approved a reform plan on April 2 that could be adopted by the Republican convention in September. The plan is called the Ohio Plan. It would allow Iowa and New Hampshire to go first, followed by Nevada and South Carolina. A group of 15 small states and five territories would vote next. Then would come regional groupings roughly divided into a Midwest/Eastern region, a Southern region and a Western region. These regional groups would rotate every four years to see which region goes first. The order for 2012, the first year this plan would go into effect, would be determined by lottery. This plan has the benefit of being fair and orderly — and largely incomprehensible. It is ironic that the Republican Party is moving ahead with a reform plan, considering that Republicans really don't have very much to be angry about this year. After all, the Republicans chose a winner early, there has been little or no argument that the system was unfair to the losers, and the Republicans don't have superdelegates to complicate things. Why, therefore, do Republicans want to "reform" things? It may be that Republicans place a higher value on order and efficiency — Republicans have winner-take-all primaries because that system chooses a nominee more quickly — while Democrats concentrate more on trying to achieve what is viewed as "fair" to the different factions in their party. The Republican National Committee did not like the jostling by some states to go early in the primary calendar this year and stripped New Hampshire, Florida, South Carolina, Michigan and Wyoming of half their delegates as punishment. The Ohio Plan would prevent future jostling. David Norcross, chairman of the RNC Standing Committee on Rules, said at the Harvard conference that there was "consensus" within the party for the Ohio Plan, which passed the Rules Committee by a vote of 26-12. "If the candidate thinks it's a good idea, we will adopt it at the convention and there will be pressure on the Democrats to go along," he said. But wait. What if John McCain doesn't think it's a good idea? What if he doesn't want to throw out a system that, after all, resulted in his nomination? In that case, Norcross said, the plan would be "dead in the water." So there may be no change at all. I, for one, would not be crushed. Our process of selecting presidential nominees is brawling, raucous, chaotic, sometimes goofy, sometimes splendid and utterly imperfect. In other words, it is very American. Works for me. Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. Comment on Roger Simon's column by clicking here. Roger Simon Archives © 2008, Creators Syndicate