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May 25, 2012
Mark Clayton: Is Hillary's State Dept. hacking Al Qaeda? Not quite
Erika Bolstad: Temple cancels Wasserman Schultz speech
The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman: The former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with contemporary Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Sweet Noodle 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
May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
July 17, 2009
25 Tamuz 5769
When a Tweet Is Not Enough
By
Suzanne Fields
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
WOODS HOLE, Mass. All politics may not be loco, as one famous
pundit (Michael Barone) puts it, but the ancient maxim that all politics is
local is demonstrably true. Consider a feature called "Obama Watch" in the
Cape Cod Times. There's nothing in it about the rising unemployment figures,
the crash of the president's teleprompter, his health-care legislation or
the latest on whether his diplomatic offensive is cooling fanatic fervor in
the Middle East.
The big question for the president on Cape Cod is whether
Barack, Michelle and the girls will follow the example of Ulysses S. Grant
and Bill Clinton to Martha's Vineyard for a vacation in August. How you
stand depends on where you're sitting, as a wise man I once knew was fond of
saying, and that goes double for an economic stimulus.
The natives, as a summer visitor quickly learns, are eager to be
stimulated, and an invasion of the Secret Service, snarling traffic jams and
attracting landlubbing gawkers is regarded as a small price to pay to lift
all the boats at the docks along the Massachusetts coastline. It's a needed
reminder to the hundreds of politicians, policy wonks, academics,
journalists, bureaucrats and other refugees from Washington that intelligent
life thrives beyond the Beltway.
For example, the residents of Woods Hole are more fascinated by
what's going on fathoms below the surface of the Atlantic, as discovered by
a robot called Nereus, which has gone deeper than any deep-sea vehicle
before it. Engineers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution began
working on Nereus nine years ago, and early this summer Nereus successfully
reached unexplored depths in the Marianas Trench in the western Pacific.
The dimensions of the trench are mysterious and breathtaking
it's nearly seven miles deep, the deepest indentation of Earth's crust (the
SS Titanic sank to a depth of "only" two and a half miles). Few sea
creatures live there, and Nereus, designed to withstand pressure a thousand
times greater than the pressure at the surface of the sea, is expected to
find them. At that depth, a day without methane is like a day without
sunshine topside.
Impressive as all the science and technology is, I'm equally
impressed that Nereus, a mythical Greek god with a man's torso and the tail
of a fish, was named in a nationwide contest open to students in junior high
schools, high schools and colleges. A generation of text-messaging and
Twittering has reduced the young to a language of "words" for messages of
only 140 characters. The Greek myths could never have been told in such a
language, and it's an unexpected blessing that there's such a relatively
large audience of literate young people who can draw on Greek mythology in
the service of science.
Many Twitterers (Twitterists? Tweetists?) insist that the
Twittering ubiquitous at the beach, in the woods, on bike paths, in sidewalk
cafes (and even in church and lecture hall) is simply for fun, idle thoughts
expressed in real time. But reducing thoughts to 140 characters may exert a
psychological and educational impact more serious than that, determining not
only how we speak, but how we listen. Words shortened to the point of
illiteracy a new survey reveals that nearly half of all college freshmen
must take a course in remedial spelling and shortcuts to nonsense pass
for information. Twittering keeps the focus narrow and imparts new meaning
to "tunnel vision."
George Orwell, an earlier generation's touchstone for clarity,
observed that "good prose is like a window pane." President Obama's
eloquence, which so mesmerized the world only yesterday, may not be sound
and fury signifying not very much, but nevertheless it may be something less
than meets the ear. Liam Julian writes in Policy Review magazine that the
president's speeches have become "loopy, lofty and often lubricious."
Vagueness tempts others to fill in meanings they want to hear;
the presidential language becomes a Rorschach test of attitudes. When the
secretary of homeland security refers to terrorism as "man-caused
disasters," she's playing a mind game. "Such phraseology," Orwell observed
of similar silliness, "is needed if one wants to name things without calling
up pictures of them."
Bad language has always reflected bad thinking just as good
language delivered with precision forces us to see more clearly. When one of
the president's famous teleprompters crashed to the floor during his defense
of the economic stimulus package, the irony was writ large for both Woods
Hole and Washington. It was a picture worth a thousand words.
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Suzanne Fields Archives
© 2006, Creators Syndicate, Suzanne Fields
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