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June 19, 2013

Peter Grier and Harry Bruinius: In the end, NSA might not need to snoop so secretly after all

Howard LaFranchi: Taliban peace talks hold glimmer of hope, but also unanswerable questions

Warren Richey: Supreme Court: For right to remain silent, a suspect must speak
Meredith Cohn: Leeches are making a comeback as medical helpers

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to pick the healthiest breakfast cereal

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: Spicy Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

June 17, 2013

Rabbi Simcha Weinstein: Black to the Future: American Apparel Gets Biblical

Patrik Jonsson: Minnesota Nazi: How did Nazi hunters miss Michael Karkoc?

Kate Irby, Ali Watkins, Trevor Graff and Kevin Thibodeaux: All the ways you're being watched
Don Lee: G-8 meeting will test NSA leaks' effect on U.S. influence

Patrik Jonsson: Fort Hood shooting: Judge nixes Nidal Hasan defense strategy. What now?

Stacey Burling: Why the stigma for migraine sufferers?

The Kosher Gourmet by Lisa Abraham: Does it work? 5 new kitchen gadgets put to the test

June 14, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: A spiritual budget: Religious economics and being a ruler

John P. Martin: Hitler insider's missing diary found

Matt Pearce: NSA surveillance disclosure could affect court cases
Peter Tinti: US bounties changes strategy on (Wild, Wild) West African jihadis

Daniel Pendrick, M.D.: Memory loss? Old age may be the least of it

Lauren F. Friedman: But it's all natural! Should we have an instinctive preference for herbal remedies?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Streisand and Alicia Keys in Israel; "Girls" Stuff; Mel Brooks, Another TV special; Superman (who is Jewish) returns --- Israeli plays his mom

The Kosher Gourmet by Sharon K. Ghag : Bored with salad? Bling it up a bit (4 effortless recipes that will result in a 'WOW!')

June 12, 2013

Stephanie Hanes: Little girls or little women? The Disney princess effect

Fred Weir: In tweak to US, Russia would 'consider' asylum for Snowden

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: What's so special about Omega-3 supplements?
Morgan Housel: What newspapers were saying when you should have been buying

Pete Spotts: How cockroaches evolved so as to bypass 'roach motels'

The Kosher Gourmet by Anjali Prasertong: Deep-dish cookie: Warm, gooey and a little over the top

June 10, 2013

Joseph A. Slobodzian: Faith healing and third degree murder: Thorny legal case
Lindsay Wise: Few options for online users to avoid spying, experts say

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: There are plenty of nutritional food bargains out there
Harvard Health Letters: Can bariatric surgery control diabetes?

Zach Murdock: Superglue helps doctors save infant's life

The Kosher Gourmet by Celebrated chef Mario Batali : As good as grilling gets: Rib eye with dry mushroom spice rub

June 7, 2013

Rabbi David Aaron: Beating jealousy

Caroline B. Glick: Wounded . . . and dangerous

Clifford D. May: Al Qaeda vs. Hezbollah
Harvard Health Letters: Fighting back against allergy season

Kimberly Lankford: Grandparents who use FSA to cover grandkid's braces and other must-know info

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom:J ewish Tony Nominees/Tony Awards; Jewish Teen Actor In Sci-Fi Flick; Jewish singer in "Voice" finals

The Kosher Gourmet by Anjali Prasertong: A tart filling so good it might not make it to the crust

June 5, 2013

John Rosemond: Mom, Dad: Talk More and listen less

Kristen Chick: Egypt court sentences 43 pro-democracy workers to prison

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: Mushrooms Have Medicinal As Well As Culinary Value
Morgan Housel: Why you never learn from your investment mistakes

Don Lee: In China, kindergarten rivalry takes deadly turn

The Kosher Gourmet by Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan: 30-Minute Coq au Vin isn't a dream

June 3, 2013

Molly Hennessy-Fiske: Military judge to consider letting Fort Hood shooting defendant represent himself

Richard A. Serrano: Pvt. Bradley Manning's WikiLeaks trial also a test for government

Mark Trumbull: Have degree, driving cab: Nearly half of college grads are overqualified
Kim Lankford: What to do when long-term care insurance premiums rise

Deborah Netburn: Study: Adults' mouth bacteria may help babies

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Contestant on 'The Voice'; Will Smith's 'Jewish movie family'; Bravo Gives Long Island Jews the Jersey Shore Treatment; Magicians and More

The Kosher Gourmet by Bill Ward: How to be as refined as the wines at a wine tasting

May 29, 2013

Andrew Connelly and Helene Bienvenu: The Little Synagogue that Refused to Die

Dennis Prager: The 'Muslims-Killed-by-the-West' Lie

David Clark Scott: Open war on teachers?
Morgan Housel: If you know only five things about investing, make it these

Sara Reardon: AGenome detectives change the donation game

Deborah Netburn: A one-way ticket to Mars? 78,000-plus and counting apply by video

The Kosher Gourmet by Bev Bennett: CHEDDAR AND CHERRY MUFFINS --- your mouth is already watering

May 24, 2013

Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: When I didn't so 'humbly disagree'

Caroline B. Glick: Thank you, Hafez al-Assad

Diana West: From the Brooklyn Bridge to London
Morgan Housel: Why spotting bubbles is so much harder than you think

Environmental Nutrition editors: NuVal labeling to the rescue?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Memorial Day: Jews Serving and KIA in War on Terror; Liberace Bio-Pic; Jew Wins "Survivor"; Shalom, Dr. Brothers; More

The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen: HIDE THESE FROZEN TREATS FROM THE KIDDIES!: Sangria pops; Irish cream pudding pops; mango Lassi pops

May 22, 2013

John Thorne: They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman

John Rosemond: 'Disciplinary math' adds up to parental successl

Warren Richey: Are prayers before public meetings OK? Supreme Court to decide
Rick Montgomery: Use of ADHD drugs as study aid raises concern on campuses

Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D.: 6 convincing reasons you should keep carbs in your diet

Eoin O'Carroll: Scientists examine nothing, find something

The Kosher Gourmet by Carole Kotkin: This soup is made from one of the great pleasures of spring: A wonderful pairing of rosy color and earthy tang

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


Jewish World Review Sept. 26, 2007 / 14 Tishrei 5768

New(t) ideas

By Cal Thomas


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | As I listen to the presidential candidates speak and engage in what passes for debate these days, it appears that most, if not all of them are simply talking about improving the old government model, rather than boldly proclaiming a new one. Carmakers, if they want to sell cars, produce "new and improved" models, not remakes of previous ones. So why do politicians continue to rely on a Model T version of government when it's outmoded and unfit for modern life?


Presidential candidates should speak about what has worked in the past and could work again. The candidates — at least the Republican ones, if they remember what Republicans are supposed to stand for — should be talking about freedom from dependency and a return to self-sufficiency. Government doesn't need to be reformed under the present system; it needs to be transformed under a new one.


Last week, a small group of fellow journalists and I had breakfast with former Speaker Newt Gingrich. Talk about a man who has learned from his mistakes! Gingrich now heads American Solutions for Winning the Future, an organization whose Website describes it as "a unique nonpartisan organization designed to rise above traditional gridlocked partisanship, to provide real, significant solutions to the most important issues facing our country." It is thrilling to sit and listen to his ideas that are no longer based on partisan posturing and strategies to win the next election, but on proposals that would work and benefit all Americans, regardless of party affiliation.


"We need a new American dialogue that focuses on evidence and data and sorts out what works and what fails," he says. "Then we need to migrate government policies and government bureaucracies away from failure and toward success." Gingrich calls government at all levels "incompetent" and makes no distinction about which party is running it.


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Who could argue with that? Only those with a vested interest in the status quo, lobbyists and polarizers, for example.


Is there anyone who is satisfied with the way large and ever-growing, bureaucratic, impersonal government works? No matter who's running it, government doesn't work precisely because of its aforementioned traits. It costs more and delivers less than ever before. It has created a dependency culture that prevents — not helps — some of the disadvantaged from achieving their dreams, if they have any after relying too much and for far too long on government.


"The solutions we need are bigger than the current political process can create," says Gingrich. Who can credibly disagree? And if you do disagree, can you give an example of what major problems government is fixing? Social Security? Education? Health care?


"We need an educational dialogue before we have a political debate," he says. Yes, we do, but who will give it to us if the presidential candidates are about patching and mending the current system? How many people understand basic economics and the principals behind capitalism? Who understands the history of their own country and the ideas that founded and have sustained it through domestic and foreign challenges? Are there politicians who will lead us to what we need rather than indulge us in the silliness of what we want, like our obsession with O.J. Simpson and other members of the cult of the depraved?


Television increasingly serves up crime and slime. These are not the things of the mind, but of the gut and the groin.


The public wants real change, says Gingrich, but the politicians — perhaps fearful of organized groups that could turn the image of a saint into one of a deviant — won't give it to them. The desire for change is not the exclusive property of conservative, white Republicans. Gingrich cites polls that show the yearning for change extends across all racial, ethnic and political groups.


Gingrich is trying to raise $30 million in three weeks to see if he should run for president. Whether he does, or not, his ideas are worth considering. They are precisely what the country needs. Candidates should be willing to talk about them and the rest of us ought to pay attention. We might if we are presented with something that actually works instead of the same old snake oil, which never does.


Citizenship is not about what government can do for us, but what we can do for ourselves. That is an old model that increasingly looks like a classic car. And it is far more attractive and road-tested than the current government jalopy, which is ready for the junk heap.

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 Cal Thomas is the author of, among others, The Wit and Wisdom of Cal Thomas Comment by clicking here.


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