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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
Nov. 14, 2008
/ 16 Mar-Cheshvan 5769
A cream puff for used-car salesmen
By
Wesley Pruden
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
The Democrats are having a hard time selling the bailout of General Motors because nearly everyone has suffered the agony of buying a car. That's how the "used-car salesman," fair or not, became the American icon of deception, fraud and thievery.
Maybe it's true that GM is "too big to fail," though from all the available evidence GM is succeeding spectacularly at failure. What the pols and their lobbyist buddies really mean with their used-car salesman's spiel is that GM is "too big for Joe Sixpack to let fail."
Nevertheless, who among us is not enjoying a little schadenfreude, that delicious pleasure of watching someone get what's coming to him. GM has led Detroit in building junk on wheels, big hunks of rolling tin designed on the cheap to wear out before it's paid for. Once in a while, frightened by gasoline shortages and diminishing sales, the Detroit manufacturers move briefly to building smaller, more efficient cars of better quality.
But once panic subsides that market is left once more to the Japanese, the Germans and now the Koreans, and it's back to building the behemoths. GM has what it calls a terrific semi-electric car in the works, the Volt, but it won't be available until next year, or the year after, and probably never. GM is developing the Volt only because it will enable them to meet the government-imposed "fleet mileage standards." Since the Volt will get 100 miles per gallon, GM can use it to shrink the average and continue to build the gasoline-guzzling SUV, the gross and ugly Belchfire 8 of Detroit dreams.
Who would want to help these guys? Ah, but Congress is crowded with them.
Two of them, alas, are Sen. Harry Reid, the Democratic majority leader who dreams of turning the economy into a vast casino where any number can play and everyone is fleeced just like in Las Vegas, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, the city of a thousand lavender fantasies. They have devised a scheme to hand over $25 billion to the Big Three automakers. They're daring George W. Bush to veto it. "If they're serious about supporting the auto industry," says Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, smugly, "[he] wouldn't veto it."
The legislation is just the kind that liberals love, dispensing cash with few strings to reward incompetence and corruption. Just take the money and run, and come back for more if it's not enough. The law limits the pay and bonuses for the men and women who piloted the company into the side of the mountain, but includes no provisions for the Treasury Department, which would hand out the cash, to monitor how GM spends it.
Rep. Barney Frank, the prince of peccadillos who wrote the cooked book (with a little help from his Democratic friends) on bringing down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is the author of the sins and outrages that sparked the subprime housing crisis that ignited the meltdown of the economy. Now he argues that letting GM or Ford or Chrysler fail would be "pretty troublesome." But when Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama, a Republican, asked Chairman Frank of the House Financial Services Committee where the government bailout of incompetents and failures stops, he had no ready answer.
But even $25 billion won't be enough. Bloomberg, the financial news service, reports that Barack Obama is pushing Congress to hand over twice that, and he wants a federal czar to take charge of the companies, which would require the connivance of President Bush. Otherwise, say the president-elect's wise men, the new president would just have to deal with GM's dilemma next summer - by giving them still more money - as what would then be called "the Obama recession" deepens.
Handing out money is habit-forming, and there's never a lack of "clients." The City Council in Detroit (or "Detoilet," as hometown wags are calling it) adopted a resolution this week asking the governor, the Michigan congressional delegation, Mr. Bush and the Obama transition team for $10 billion to pay for more buses and streetcars, home mortgages and even to hire more municipal bureaucrats. The council president, no doubt reading the newspapers, said "the city of Detroit has got to be leading the way on this."
The grubby hands reaching for a handout multiply. One London research firm estimates that the U.S. government has now committed itself for $5 trillion (that's a "t," not a "b") so far. The original $700 billion bailout is TARP, for Troubled Asset Recovery Program. We should call the handout frenzy the Capital Assets Recovery Program. CRAP, for short.
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 Wesley Pruden is editor in chief of The Washington Times. Comment by clicking here.
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