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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 Jan. 25, 2007 / 6 Shevat, 5767

Katie Couric's Case of the Blues

By Larry Elder


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | CBS news anchor Katie Couric, invited to a briefing at the White House, complained about being the only journalist in attendance "wearing a skirt." Her colleagues included ABC's Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos; NBC's Brian Williams and Tim Russert; CBS's Bob Schieffer; CNN's Wolf Blitzer; and FOX's Brit Hume.


Presumably, Couric's complaint concerned her status as the lone female in that room, rather than the restrictive dress code. Few viewers, I suspect, wish to see Tim Russert in a tutu or Brit Hume sporting a bra.


So let's deal with Couric's complaint. Couric, on her CBS "Couric & Co." blog, thought it astonishing that, in the post-1970s women's liberation era, she found herself the only female news anchor in the room. In her blog entry, called, "Katie: A Woman at the Table," she wrote that women "only" comprise 16 percent of Congress but account for 51 percent of the population. In Rwanda, notes Couric, 49 percent of the parliament is female. (Nothing said about the genocide in Rwanda that produced approximately 800,000 deaths.) And, says Couric, in Sweden, 47 percent of the parliament are women. (Nothing written about Sweden's tax rate of 60 percent.) Couric also wrote that of the Fortune 500 companies, only in nine instances do employees refer to their CEO as "Ms." or "Mrs." Bring on affirmative action!


But other "imbalances" in the White House briefing room failed to bother Couric. All the journalists, for example, came from television. Several clearly held liberal points of view. NBC's Tim Russert, for example, once worked for the liberal former senator from New York, Daniel Patrick Moynihan. And ABC's George Stephanopoulos? He worked as a campaign aide to help elect Democratic former President Bill Clinton. Bob Schieffer's closing commentary at the end of CBS News' "Face the Nation" makes him sound at least as leftist as "60 Minutes'" Andy Rooney.


CNN's Wolf Blitzer, during Hurricane Katrina, subtly accused the White House of racism when he labeled those suffering as "so poor . . . so black." The conservative watchdog Media Research Center says Charlie Gibson's journalistic approach exposes him as "favoring gun control and campaign finance reform, portraying tax cuts as costly, and once even boasting about a sign in his house proclaiming, 'War is not good for children and other living things.'" Only FOX's Brit Hume seems to consistently represent the "conservative side," often offering stories that the liberal "mainscream media" avoids. And even he once served for years as ABC's White House correspondent. But none of this bothered Ms. Couric.


Nor did Couric seem concerned that only whites attended the meeting. Even though over 30 percent of the country consists of minorities, the all-white nature of the "major journalists" gave Couric no case of heartburn. But the shortage of skirt-wearing colleagues did frustrate her.


For what it's worth, of all the local news anchor chairs in the country, women hold 57 percent of those jobs. While men still dominate the position of news director, women account for 55 percent of executive producer positions.


There was, however, a huge issue of "unfairness" in the room. Although Couric sits in last place in the ratings of the Big Three, she earns a reported $15 million a year. Gibson, in second place, clocks in at a reported $7 million. NBC's Williams, who sits atop the ratings, reportedly makes $4 million per year.


Do the math. For the week of Jan. 15, Williams attracted 10.25 million viewers, which comes out to a salary of $.39 per set of eyeballs. Gibson, in second place with 9.5 million viewers that week, earns $.74 per viewer. And Ms. Couric, who had a whopping 2.45 million fewer viewers than the first-place Williams? At her $15 million per year salary, with her 7.8 million viewers, CBS pays her $1.92 per viewer! This means the third-place Couric gets five times the amount of money per viewer than does the first-place Williams. (Memo to Brian: Fire your agent.)


Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., criticized the severance package of Home Depot's ex-CEO as an example of "income inequality." The National Organization for Women claims that women earn $.75 on the dollar for the exact same work as men. But in the case of the networks, each of the Big Three runs a half-hour nightly newscast, which, minus commercials, comes out to approximately 22 minutes. Assuming the anchors spend about the same amount of off-air time in preparing the newscast, their time spent at work comes out the same. So, for putting in the same time, for the same work, Gibson and Williams get shafted.


We can remedy this "inequality" in one of three ways. First, make the male colleagues wear skirts to provide company for Couric. Second, give the men raises. Or third, given her "exorbitant" salary, fire Couric.


Now we understand the lack of top female journalists — they are just too darned expensive.

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JWR contributor Larry Elder is the author of, most recently, "Showdown: Confronting Bias, Lies and the Special Interests That Divide America." (Proceeds from sales help fund JWR) Let him know what you think of his column by clicking here.

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