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Oct. 10, 2008

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The limitations of scientific miracles

Caroline B. Glick: Lebanon on the brink --- and why it matters

Oct. 8, 2008

Rabbi Berel Wein: The day when the sane talk to themselves

Ana Veciana-Suarez: Many nonobservant Jews are finding religion

Oct. 7, 2008

Gary Rosenblatt: Of politics and prayer

Caroline B. Glick: The ironies of the West's collusion with the Arabs and Iran

Oct. 6, 2008

Rabbi Yitzchok R. Rubin: Mamma to the masses

Jonathan Tobin: Ahmadinejad Isn't Too Impressed

Oct. 3, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: The 'living dead' are all around us

Caroline B. Glick: Olmert's parting blows

Oct. 2, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q: Often customers looking for our competitor accidentally enter our store. Can we just serve them without comment?

Jonathan Tobin: Jewish pundit quiz on next year's news

Sept. 29, 2008

Rabbi Eli Gewirtz: Lehman Brothers and the Day of Judgment

Rabbi Leiby Burnham: Apples, Honey and You

Sept. 26, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The shofar and the Echo of Sinai

Caroline B. Glick: A road paved on reality

Sept. 24, 2008

Greg Crosby: Home for the Holy Days

Ethel G. Hofman: Rosh Hashanah Favorites: Old-fashioned taste, reduced calories

Sept. 23, 2008

Caroline Glick: Liberalism or lives!?

Michael Ledeen: Dear President Ahmadinejad

Sept. 22, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q: I gave a check to a local merchant, but it hasn't been cashed in months. Probably they lost it. Do I have to tell them?

Diana West: We are losing Europe to Islam

Sept. 19, 2008

Rabbi Berel Wein: On harvesting success

Caroline B. Glick: It is time to act

Sept. 18, 2008

Rabbi Hillel Goldberg: Is camping the panacea to save Jewry from self-destruction?

Craig Gordon: Was SNL hilarity too much for Hillary?

Sept. 17, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: The Whole World Is Watching

The Kosher Gourmet By Linda Gassenheimer: East meets Southwest in this quick meal: MEXICAN-ASIAN TOSTADOS

Sept. 16, 2008

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. : Into the fire

Everything's Relative : Your Official Jewish Guide to the 2008 USA Presidential Election

Sept. 15, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Enabling risky behavior

Diana West: A day that will live in ... accommodating Islam

Sept. 11, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The skeleton in my closet

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein: Persecution and systematic destruction of Christians in the Middle East must be stopped

Sept. 10, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: There's Something About Sarah

The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Manweiler: Who needs Chili's when you have these? Recipes for Mexican that taste great and are dietetic! Our commitment to freedom

Sept. 9, 2008

Daniel Pipes: Must counterinsurgency wars fail?

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.:

Sept. 8, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: How far must one go to help somebody out of a contract?

Barry Rubin: Waiting For Something

Sept. 8, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : How far must one go to help somebody out of a contract?

Barry Rubin: Waiting For Something

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 Feb. 22, 2008 / 16 Adar I 5768

We don't need less plagiarism. We need more

By Steve Young


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Sure, I stole it. But isn't that the point? That's what it's there for. Barack Obama uses a line or two from someone else and all of a sudden it's a big campaign story. But should it be a story at all?


Plagiarism is such a fuzzy area. Just because someone once used it, doesn't mean it can't be used again. Ask Sylvester Stallone. Ask any network executive who ever pitched a sitcom idea. Do you think Gary Marshall said, "I call it Laverne & Shirley and it's an exact ripoff of I Love Lucy. Of course not. Why? Because it's American capitalism at its best. Oh, we may change a word or two, but since when is recycling bad. It's not stealing. It's protecting the environment.


The point is, we don't need less plagiarism. We need more. Certain phrases have said it better than it can be ever said again, so why settle on second best? Certainly we wouldn't want second best from our leaders. "Fool me once..... shame on... uhh... you can't....er...ummm....ya can't fool me again..."


Imagine if something like that came out of the mouth of our Commander in Chief?


So, as the campaign marches on and one administration replaces another, let us bathe, not in the darkness of staid and weak phrasing, but in the glory of greatness. From the first announcement into the 2008 race to inauguration day 2009, I give you, political plagiarism at it's copy infringement best; how it could have been and can still be the most quoted campaign season ever. And if you don't like it, frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.


I see dead people.
—Candidates describing how they'll win Chicago.

I'll get you my pretty...and your little wife too.
—Clinton to Obama

You had me at hello.
—Oprah to Obama

Well, here's another fine mess you've gotten me into.
—Hillary to Bill

Here's Johnny!
—McCain's intro at the Republican Convention

This is for all the lonely people.
—Mike Gravel rationalizing his continued run

I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse.
—McCain suggesting a cabinet post to Romney if he drops out

Shaken, not stirred.
—Dick Morris describing the enthusiasm in the Clinton camp

Houston, we have a problem
—Clinton during Texas Primary

What if I say I'm not like the others.
—Ralph Nader considering another run

Listen to me, mister. You're my knight in shining armor. Don't you forget it. You're going to get back on that horse, and I'm going to be right behind you, holding on tight, and away we're gonna go, go, go!
—Mrs. Nader

All the world is a stage...Nothing can come of nothing
—Fred Thompson explaining why he entered the presidential race and why he quit.

Say hello to my little friend.
—Elizabeth Kucinich introducing her husband

I am big. It's the picture that got small.
—Dennis Kucinich

Plastics.
—Joe Biden describing how he was holding his campaign together.

Show me the money.
—Every candidate

Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.
—McCain agreeing to be a guest on Sean Hannity's show

Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
—Dick Cheney promoting the benefits of his last 6 years.

A plague on both your houses.
— Rush Limbaugh

Never interrupt your enemy when he's making a mistake.
—Obama referring to Bill Clinton

They're he—re.
—Hillary Clinton introducing her Super Delegates

I'll have what she's having.
—Bill Clinton during Hillary Clinton swearing in.

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
—George W. Bush at the Wailing Wall

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

JWR contributor Steve Young is an award-winning TV writer and author of "Great Failures of the Extremely Successful". Comment by clicking here.



© 2008, Steve Young

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