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June 19, 2013

Peter Grier and Harry Bruinius: In the end, NSA might not need to snoop so secretly after all

Howard LaFranchi: Taliban peace talks hold glimmer of hope, but also unanswerable questions

Warren Richey: Supreme Court: For right to remain silent, a suspect must speak
Meredith Cohn: Leeches are making a comeback as medical helpers

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to pick the healthiest breakfast cereal

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: Spicy Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

June 17, 2013

Rabbi Simcha Weinstein: Black to the Future: American Apparel Gets Biblical

Patrik Jonsson: Minnesota Nazi: How did Nazi hunters miss Michael Karkoc?

Kate Irby, Ali Watkins, Trevor Graff and Kevin Thibodeaux: All the ways you're being watched
Don Lee: G-8 meeting will test NSA leaks' effect on U.S. influence

Patrik Jonsson: Fort Hood shooting: Judge nixes Nidal Hasan defense strategy. What now?

Stacey Burling: Why the stigma for migraine sufferers?

The Kosher Gourmet by Lisa Abraham: Does it work? 5 new kitchen gadgets put to the test

June 14, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: A spiritual budget: Religious economics and being a ruler

John P. Martin: Hitler insider's missing diary found

Matt Pearce: NSA surveillance disclosure could affect court cases
Peter Tinti: US bounties changes strategy on (Wild, Wild) West African jihadis

Daniel Pendrick, M.D.: Memory loss? Old age may be the least of it

Lauren F. Friedman: But it's all natural! Should we have an instinctive preference for herbal remedies?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Streisand and Alicia Keys in Israel; "Girls" Stuff; Mel Brooks, Another TV special; Superman (who is Jewish) returns --- Israeli plays his mom

The Kosher Gourmet by Sharon K. Ghag : Bored with salad? Bling it up a bit (4 effortless recipes that will result in a 'WOW!')

June 12, 2013

Stephanie Hanes: Little girls or little women? The Disney princess effect

Fred Weir: In tweak to US, Russia would 'consider' asylum for Snowden

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: What's so special about Omega-3 supplements?
Morgan Housel: What newspapers were saying when you should have been buying

Pete Spotts: How cockroaches evolved so as to bypass 'roach motels'

The Kosher Gourmet by Anjali Prasertong: Deep-dish cookie: Warm, gooey and a little over the top

June 10, 2013

Joseph A. Slobodzian: Faith healing and third degree murder: Thorny legal case
Lindsay Wise: Few options for online users to avoid spying, experts say

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: There are plenty of nutritional food bargains out there
Harvard Health Letters: Can bariatric surgery control diabetes?

Zach Murdock: Superglue helps doctors save infant's life

The Kosher Gourmet by Celebrated chef Mario Batali : As good as grilling gets: Rib eye with dry mushroom spice rub

June 7, 2013

Rabbi David Aaron: Beating jealousy

Caroline B. Glick: Wounded . . . and dangerous

Clifford D. May: Al Qaeda vs. Hezbollah
Harvard Health Letters: Fighting back against allergy season

Kimberly Lankford: Grandparents who use FSA to cover grandkid's braces and other must-know info

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom:J ewish Tony Nominees/Tony Awards; Jewish Teen Actor In Sci-Fi Flick; Jewish singer in "Voice" finals

The Kosher Gourmet by Anjali Prasertong: A tart filling so good it might not make it to the crust

June 5, 2013

John Rosemond: Mom, Dad: Talk More and listen less

Kristen Chick: Egypt court sentences 43 pro-democracy workers to prison

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: Mushrooms Have Medicinal As Well As Culinary Value
Morgan Housel: Why you never learn from your investment mistakes

Don Lee: In China, kindergarten rivalry takes deadly turn

The Kosher Gourmet by Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan: 30-Minute Coq au Vin isn't a dream

June 3, 2013

Molly Hennessy-Fiske: Military judge to consider letting Fort Hood shooting defendant represent himself

Richard A. Serrano: Pvt. Bradley Manning's WikiLeaks trial also a test for government

Mark Trumbull: Have degree, driving cab: Nearly half of college grads are overqualified
Kim Lankford: What to do when long-term care insurance premiums rise

Deborah Netburn: Study: Adults' mouth bacteria may help babies

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Contestant on 'The Voice'; Will Smith's 'Jewish movie family'; Bravo Gives Long Island Jews the Jersey Shore Treatment; Magicians and More

The Kosher Gourmet by Bill Ward: How to be as refined as the wines at a wine tasting

May 29, 2013

Andrew Connelly and Helene Bienvenu: The Little Synagogue that Refused to Die

Dennis Prager: The 'Muslims-Killed-by-the-West' Lie

David Clark Scott: Open war on teachers?
Morgan Housel: If you know only five things about investing, make it these

Sara Reardon: AGenome detectives change the donation game

Deborah Netburn: A one-way ticket to Mars? 78,000-plus and counting apply by video

The Kosher Gourmet by Bev Bennett: CHEDDAR AND CHERRY MUFFINS --- your mouth is already watering

May 24, 2013

Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: When I didn't so 'humbly disagree'

Caroline B. Glick: Thank you, Hafez al-Assad

Diana West: From the Brooklyn Bridge to London
Morgan Housel: Why spotting bubbles is so much harder than you think

Environmental Nutrition editors: NuVal labeling to the rescue?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Memorial Day: Jews Serving and KIA in War on Terror; Liberace Bio-Pic; Jew Wins "Survivor"; Shalom, Dr. Brothers; More

The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen: HIDE THESE FROZEN TREATS FROM THE KIDDIES!: Sangria pops; Irish cream pudding pops; mango Lassi pops

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


Jewish World Review July 29, 2005 / 22 Tammuz, 5765

Life in post-identity America

By Diana West


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Will the American identity — the save-the-world American, the quiet American, the ugly American, the generous American, the can-do American — disappear during the long war on Islamic terror? In the following three quotations of the week — random, but not unconnected — you can see it slipping away, the victim of a debilitating cultural amnesia. Which may be pretty tough stuff for the middle of the summer, but that's the way 2005 goes.

The first quotation is a headline: "Poll Shows Americans, for First Time, Divided on Use of A-Bombs in 1945." According to this Associated Press poll, commissioned to mark the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a "historical switch" has taken place. The strong majorities that always supported the use of "the bomb" to end World War II in the Pacific have, for the first time, dwindled to an almost even split, with 48 percent of Americans "strongly" or "somewhat" approving, and 47 percent "strongly" or "somewhat" disapproving.

Whether this shift is inspired by plain ignorance or a civilizational death wish, it hardly reflects a robust culture bent on military triumph, let alone survival. In their disapproval of the Truman decision that spared a million American casualties (the projected cost of an invasion of mainland Japan), 47 percent of Americans reveal a lack of will, even in historical terms, not only to prize American lives, but also to support the hard decisions to save them. If not defeatism exactly, such national torpor, stemming from an unrequited empathy with the enemy, tends to make any victory ambiguous. Remember Iraq, where, upon liberation, the American flag draping Saddam's toppled statue had to be whisked away in deference to similar, politically correct tendencies. And that was just the beginning.

We muddle through, but the terrible tendencies remain — as revealed in a stunning installment of In the Red Zone, a blog from Iraq by journalist Steven Vincent. Mr. Vincent reports from Basra, where he says crooks and corruption are the problem, not terrorism. There, a Gary Cooper-esque U.S. Air Force captain is in charge of awarding contracting jobs of up to $1 million. Mr. Vincent's Iraqi friend Layla has her doubts about the bidders: How does the captain know, she asks, that he isn't funneling money to extremists or religious parties that have put a woman's name on their letterhead to win a bid?

And here goes quotation No. 2: "I certainly hope none of these contracts are going to the wrong people," he replies, continuing: "But should we really get involved in choosing one political group over another? ... I mean, I've always believed that we shouldn't project American values onto other cultures — that we should let them be. Who is to say we are right and they are wrong?"

Et tu, Captain America? It's one thing to get this mindless mantra from a Montgomery County public school teacher with rings on his toes and multiculturalism on his agenda. Maybe projecting American values onto certain cultures is a stupid idea, but clearly that's their loss. Meanwhile, there we are, doling out the dollars. Just listen to Layla: "These religious parties are wrong! Look at them, their corruption ... the way they treat women! How can you say you cannot judge them? Why shouldn't you apply your own cultural values?"

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Why, indeed. Do "American values" still exist? Or have they been re-educated out of existence? Maybe their absence is what explains the insipid mania for Democracy, The Process, across the Middle East, regardless of whether terrorists run for office or sharia is the law of the land. Such non-judgmentalism is everywhere, even informing Security, The Process, at home.

Or, rather, especially informing Security, The Process, at home. Consider quotation No. 3, from a New York Times editorial on commuter safety measures, which — post 9/11, 3/11, 7/7 and 7/21 — are a brave new way of life. The topic is pretending to search for bombs, which is what we do in post-identity America. "The police officers must be careful not to give the impression that every rider who looks Arab or South Asian is automatically a subject of suspicion. ... Those who are selected simply because they are carrying packages should be chosen in a way that does not raise fears of racial profiling — by, for example, searching every fifth or 12th person, with the exact sequence chosen at random."

Anything to avoid "fears of racial profiling" — even death by murder-bomber. As the captain said, who's to say? In the Exact Sequence Chosen at Random We Trust. If we deny their identity long enough, our own will cease to matter.

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 Diana West is a columnist and editorial writer for the Washington Times. Comment by clicking here.

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