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July 3, 2008

Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski: A spiritual budget (TOUCHING!)

Jeff Jacoby: Israel still paying for its defeat

JWisdom:: Re-Jew-venating prayer, Part IV by Rabbi David Aaron

July 2, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: Appeasers Make Poor Patriots

The Kosher Gourmet By Kathleen Purvis: Slaw, y'all: For BBQs or Sabbath dinner, these southern recipes are something else!

JWisdom:: Rabbi Mordechai Becher: Jewish Rx for A Simpler Life

July 1, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q. I think it's important to leave a legacy to my children. How much should I save towards this end?

Paul Greenberg:A President who is history deficient?

JWisdom:: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Poland's Unique Antisemitism

June 30, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: Remembering the architect of Torah Judaism for the modern world

Abe Novick: Hulk: Still a Jew?

JWisdom: : Putting the Spirit Back into Spirituality, Part 2: The Abandoned Child

June 26, 2008

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Quantum leap to evil

Caroline B. Glick: Victimized families must not be allowed to dictate policy

June 25, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Today in Biblical History: King Jeroboam of Israel prevents pilgrimage to Jerusalem

Jonathan Tobin: Real Friends and Real Enemies

JWisdom: Raping of reason By Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

June 25, 2008

Steven Emerson: Kristof: Never Mind the Terrorists

Stratfor Intelligence Briefing: Mediterranean Flyover: Telegraphing an Israeli Punch?

JWisdom: Rabbi David Aaron: Re-Jew-venating prayer, Part III

June 24, 2008

Caroline B. Glick: What were they thinking!?

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Guilty knowledge

JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Warping Innocence

June 23, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Diploma dilemma

Jeff Jacoby: A world without children

JWisdom: Rabbi Dovid Gross: Putting the Spirit Back into Spirituality --- Introduction

June 20, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Man: The Crowning Glory of Creation

Caroline B. Glick: Israel's darkest week

JWisdom: We aren't worthy? by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

June 19, 2008

Rabbi Elazar Meisels: The saints who don't come marchin' in

Chris Christoff: Muslim woman demands an apology from Obama after camera snub

June 18, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: Still Dancing Around Jerusalem

The Kosher Gourmet by Steve Petusevsky: Chilled fruit and vegetable soups

JWisdom: Souls Need A Check Up? by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

June 17, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: Baby Einstein

Caroline B. Glick: Bush's rhetoric, Bush's policies

JWisdom: Re-Jew-venating prayer, Part II by Rabbi David Aaron

June 16, 2008

Varda Branfman: Bob Dylan, won't you please come home?

Diana West: Academic dares to question the 'religion of peace'

JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Positive Backfire

June 13, 2008

Rabbi Berel Wein: Trading manna for whine

Caroline B. Glick: Peace with friends

JWisdom: From the mouths of … by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

June 12, 2008

Michael Feldberg: Meet Paul Revere's pal, the Orthodox Jew who played a key role in laying Boston's cultural and business infrastructure

The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Manweiler: No need to be tempted by Wendy's mandarin chicken salad

JWisdom: Re-Jew-venating prayer, Part I by Rabbi David Aaron

June 11, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: What would Hillel say?

Jonathan Tobin: UNRWA and NGOs: The Real U.N. 'Insult'

JWisdom: Sara Yoheved Rigler: Greatness Made Simple: How a momentary decision shifted life's course and destination

June 6, 2008

Rabbi Pinchas Stolper: Revelation: The basis of faith

Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: Mere hours after becoming Israel's new 'best friend' Obama backtracks on status of Jerusalem

Caroline B. Glick: UN choosing to protect rogue nuclear programs

JWisdom: Sameness in difference by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

June 5, 2008

David Lightman: Now Obama wants to be Israel's newest 'best friend'

Obama's remarks to AIPAC policy conference

The Kosher Gourmet By Ethel G. Hofman: Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Lokshen 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

JWisdom: Why a Jewish Jerusalem makes so many nervous by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

June 4, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: A different sort of 'religious broadcaster'

Jonathan Tobin: Misgivings on the Road to Damascus

JWisdom: 44 Years Without An Argument? by Sara Yoheved Rigler

June 3, 2008

Daniel Pipes: Obama vs. McCain on the Middle East

Everything's Relative: There is a crisis growing in Orthodox synagogues worldwide, reveals Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkel

JWisdom: White Facades; Black Secrets by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

June 2, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q: Lie to outsmart discriminator?

He writes the songs that make our souls sing:Gavriel Aryeh Sanders interviews Jewish music legend Ben Zion Shenker; includes stirring, uplifting song

JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Of laws and lives

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 Dec. 15, 2005 / 14 Kislev, 5766

No quick pass to security

By Lloyd Garver


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | 'Tis the season to wait impatiently in lines. And among the lines that people complain about the most are the ones at airport security. It wasn't always like that. If you summon the ghost of Christmas Past and go all the way back to a year or two ago, most people were saying things like, "If it's a little inconvenient, if I have to show up at the airport a little early, if I have to take off my shoes, it's a small price to pay for being safe." I guess most people have forgotten those words. Now, you're more likely to hear things like, "I can't believe how slow the security people are," or "They actually made me take off my shoes," or "Why can't they just search the people who look like terrorists?"


Well soon, those impatient travelers may not have to wait in long lines with everybody else. Both the Transportation Security Administration and private companies are developing a kind of quick E-ZPass. The way it would work is that the customer would voluntarily undergo a background check, an iris and fingerprint scan, and probably have some secret code word like their pet's maiden name. Then they'll still have to go through the metal detector at the airport, but their search won't be as thorough and they probably won't have to be "wanded."


It's being hailed as the answer to frequent fliers' prayers. I'm not so sure. Personally, I'd like to have more comfortable seats or some air conditioning even when the plane's on the ground.


First of all, don't the government and private companies have enough personal information on each of us without our voluntarily giving out more? Theoretically, the line with pre-screened "E-ZPass people" will be shorter than the regular line. But if this thing really works the way its proponents say it will, won't just about everybody join in? Then we'll have two lines: a long line of "special" people who don't want to wait in the regular long line right next to them.


If we're still worried about bad guys sneaking on planes, isn't this just another opportunity to make it easier for them? If there's a way of faking a background check or an iris scan, isn't there a chance that the "wrong people" will figure it out? Do you really feel secure that no terrorist will ever be able to get one of these Quick N' E-ZPasses?


This reminds me of the recent decision to allow people to fly with small scissors or tools. I guess the reasoning was that the odds were great that a terrorist could do any real damage with a scissors less than 4 inches long or a screwdriver less than 7 inches. (They don't sound all that small to me. How big is a "box-cutter" anyway?) Also, even if it's a minor risk, why take it? How important are those scissors and screwdrivers to passengers in-flight? Can't they repair their glasses or make paper dolls after they land?


And how much money is being spent on developing these Quick Passes? Is this the best way to spend Transportation Security Administration dollars? Wouldn't it be better spent on things like examining cargo or hiring more inspectors?


Excited proponents of the I.D. Pass say that its use wouldn't just be limited to airplanes. It could be used anywhere that there are security lines and searches: ballgames, concerts, parties at rich paranoids' houses, etc. I don't know about you, but I haven't found security to be an enormous inconvenience when going to a concert or a sports event. Instead of trying to perfect this I.D. card, I'd rather they concentrated on a good sound system and clean bathrooms.


So, it's not that this thing is necessarily a bad idea, but like so many ideas, it seems like something we don't need. Get to the airport a little early, and wear shoes that go off and on easily. Don't look at the long line as a nuisance. Look at it as a demonstration of how much people care about your being safe. Maybe you should see it as a social experience, too. Make new friends with the others in line. And pretty soon, possibly you'll be saying again, "It's a little inconvenient, but at least I feel safer." And maybe you'll meet somebody who thinks you have really sexy feet.

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 Lloyd Garver has written for many television shows, ranging from "Sesame Street" to "Family Ties" to "Frasier." He has also read many books, some of them in hardcover. Comment by clicking here. Visit his website by clicking here.

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© 2005, Lloyd Garver

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