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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
May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

Emily Alpert: Recession dragged down birth rates for less-educated women
Morgan Housel: The deep downside of home ownership

Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

Heidi McIndoo, M.S., R.D.: Meatless 'meat' can have its own set of problems

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate! This must-try appetizer is delicate yet has depth of flavor: Corn-Leek Cakes with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

Mona Charen: Hawking's Moral Calculus: The man and the movement he embraces
Morgan Housel: The biggest retirement myth ever told

Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A sweet-hot meal: Pear salsa spices up salmon

May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility

May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage
Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

Kimberly Lankford: How to track down a lost life insurance policy

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

Mediterranean diet helps beat dementia: study
Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: A sweet surprise for Mother's Day dessert

May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Halena M. Gazelka, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: What you need to know about implanted pain relief devices

Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine

Jessica Shugart: When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs

The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The celebrated chef on how high-maintenance ASPARAGUS RISOTTO need not be

April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Major Leaguers, 2013; New Movies and Comedy Show; Shalom, 'Lumpy' (Leave it to Beaver)

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on
Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

Melissa Healy: Pot in a pill: All the pain relief without the smoke

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

US man departing country arrested on terror charges
Barbara Williams: An unorthodox but growing treatment in a 9-year-old's battle against cancer

P.J. Skerrett, M.D.: How to recognize a good whole grain product

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Teen actor Jonah Bobo in New Flick: Hunky James Wolk on Mad Men; Erich Segal's Daughter Writes Prize-Winning Jewish Novel


Jewish World Review Sept. 4, 2007 / 22 Elul, 5767

Questions for Republican presidential candidates

By Nat Hentoff


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Civil libertarians, including many conservatives, have been increasingly concerned over the president's conviction that, in fighting this war against terrorism, he can ignore the Constitution's mandate of the separation of powers, when he deems it necessary, and act unilaterally. In all the debates so far, no Republican contenders have questioned his insistence on this issue. Since unchecked powers become precedents, will you, as president, follow George W. Bush's lead, including his large-scale use of "signing statements" allowing him to disregard bills he has signed into law?


On July 20, for one example, the president issued an executive order on the "alternative" interrogation techniques the CIA can use to get information from suspected terrorists, including in its secret prisons. Although the administration claims that the order bans torture and cruel, inhuman treatment as mandated by Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, the permitted coercive techniques are not described in the executive order. They are classified.


Moreover, the president's executive order does not specifically bar the CIA interrogations that the International Red Cross recently found to be "tantamount to torture." Nor does the order exclude other clearly cruel, inhuman CIA treatment that has been extensively documented in such recent reports as "Leave No Marks" by Human Rights First and Physicians for Social Responsibility.


These abuses by the CIA — including the kidnapping and "renditions" that have sent terror suspects to be tortured in countries known for that practice — have lowered this country's reputation among many citizens of nations that are our allies, and have been very useful recruiting tools for our enemy. As president, what will you do to restore our respect in other democracies during this war of ideas as well as force?


This administration has repeatedly invoked the "state secrets" privilege to prevent a court from conducting due-process hearings on cases brought by victims of CIA "renditions" and by American citizens claiming standing to object to this administration's warrantless surveillance and databasing (recently expanded by Congressional approval).


Justice Department lawyers claim they cannot explain, in any way, what these "state secrets" are that make it impossible for our courts to function in these cases.


As one objecting judge has said, "Democracy dies behind closed doors." As president, would you be concerned with this abdication of "due process" — the core of our system of justice? If so, what would you do to prevent such unrestrained invocation of "state secrets" that would enclose even more of our constitutional system of justice in darkness?


In their debates, the Democratic presidential contenders have — with only a very few exceptions, and then only glancingly — expressed concern about a growing uneasiness among Americans across the political spectrum that was distilled recently by U.S. District Judge John Coughenour in Seattle, Wash.:


"If we render our Constitution obsolete out of fear, the terrorists will have won."


Furthermore, in this war against homicidal terrorists, which, as Donald Rumsfeld, among others, has said will last for decades, what can a new president do to regenerate Americans' understanding of, and faith in, our Constitution?


In 1944, speaking at an "I Am an American Day" in New York, Judge Learned Hand focused on "The Spirit of Liberty" at a time, he said, when "our young men are at this moment fighting and dying; in that spirit of liberty." He gave a warning of how eroded that spirit can become in this nation founded on that spirit. His words during that war are acutely contemporary no matter which political party next controls the White House and the Congress:


"Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women. When it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it."


How firm is liberty in the hearts of Americans now? On Sept. 12, 2001, President George W. Bush, pledged: "We will not allow this enemy to win the war by changing our way of life or restricting our freedoms."


I'm sure he meant that and still does. But few if any presidents in our history have received such bad advice from their closest advisers on how to keep that promise — and this promise has not been kept as unilateral presidential powers keep expanding — as our civil liberties keep being eroded — with the president still maintaining he is the decider in matters of national security.


The No Child Left Behind Act necessarily emphasizes raising reading and math scores; but throughout the country, our schools, to meet that requirement, have largely abandoned what used to be called civics classes. Fewer young Americans know why they are Americans. In a real sense, the president is the head teacher of this country. What will you do, as president, to teach — in acts, as well as words, how the spirit of liberty here at home can be regenerated and maintained through the Bill of Rights?


These may be the only such questions you will get during this campaign.

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.


Nat Hentoff is a nationally renowned authority on the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights and author of several books, including his current work, "The War on the Bill of Rights and the Gathering Resistance". Comment by clicking here.

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