Dec. 4, 2013 Mordechai Schiller: The Mystery of Teddy Roosevelt's Menorahs George Friedman of Stratfor: Israel's New Strategic Position Christi Parsons: The chalice that helped make possible the Iran nuclear deal Geoffrey Mohan: OOPS! You mean men and women really are different? Kimberly Lankford: How to Navigate Medicare on Your Parents' Behalf Everything's Relative by Jordan B. "Gorf" Gorfinkel : A teaching/torture moment The Kosher Gourmet by Kathleen Purvis: The secrets to preparing perfect mashed potatoes (3 mmm-outhwatering recipes!) Dec. 2, 2013 Rabbi Moshe Grylak: Attack on Chanukah's scholar-warriors an affront to all people of faith Mark Steyn: U.S. boxes in Israel, not Iran: Surrender in Geneva Kimberly Lankford: The Lowdown on the Obamacare Health Insurance Penalty Kathy Kristof: 5 Stocks to Sell Now Karen Ansel, M.S., R.D.: How you can eat more and weigh less Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Vanessa Bayer & Jacob, the Bar Mitzvah Boy; Adam Levine, nickname "the Bear Jew," is People's Sexiest; Eastwoods Need to Say "Kinehora!" The Kosher Gourmet by Kim Ode: Fried and gone to heaven: Dense, fried Slovenian doughnut-like rolls, krofi, on Chanukah is a treat you'll want to eat all year long Nov. 27, 2013 Caroline B. Glick: The goal of Obama's foreign policy David G. Savage: 1993 religious freedom act is at heart of contraception case Jonathan Tobin: SCOTUS Gives Religious Freedom a Hearing Cameron Huddleston: Best Doorbuster Deals for Thanksgiving and Black Friday Anjelica Tan and Cameron Huddleston: 12 Things Not to Buy During the Holidays Amina Khan: Jellyfish inspire flying-robot design The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: Thanksgiving leftovers from boring to brilliant: TURKEY-BUTTERNUT TORTILLA SOUP WITH ZESTY LIME SOUR CREAM Nov. 25, 2013 Jonathan Tobin: Ayatollahs, 1; West . . . Damned Melanie Phillips: It's 1938 all over again Cameron Huddleston: The Black Friday Deals that Aren't Harvard Health Letters: Some health-related apps should be avoided Kimberly Lankford: Time Is Running Out on Energy-Efficient Home Improvement Tax Credits Karen Kaplan: Tracking babies' eyes, scientists find signs of autism in 2-month-olds The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Secrets to perfect roasting of vegetables, including clever cook additions Nov. 22, 2013 Rabbi Benjamin Hecht: Especially wrong: How not to de-pamper a self-absorbed society Caroline B. Glick: A vastly changed Middle East Karen Kaplan: Bored? You won't be after reading this! Morgan Housel: What drives me absolutely crazy about finance Schuyler Velasco: Is one-click shopping just too darn easy? Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Hunger Games: Jewish Connections; A 'Minyan'of Jewish Celebs Recite the Gettysburg Address On-line; Walter Matthau's Reaction to JFK's Death L'CHAIM! by Joshua E. London and Lou Marmon: This year, give the gift of booze Nov. 20, 2013 Christa Case Bryant: Israel becomes a 'Promised Land' for non-Jewish geeks Steve Weizman: Rebuffed by Washington Netanyahu heads to Moscow 'Love Thy Enemy's Grandchild' Yale S. Samole, M.D. : Doctor, do I have to take this medication forever? Sharon Palmer, R.D. : Which foods are best? Busting nutrition myths Eleanor Laise: Medical credit cards can cause heartburn The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen: Cranberry Curd Bars with Walnut Shortbread Crust is an excellent last-minute treat for Thanksgiving or any other special dinner this fall Nov. 18, 2013 There Is More Than One Way To Save a Life: As told to Rabbi Nachman Seltzer Nancy A. Youssef : Christians too afraid to complain as treatment in new 'democracy' worsens Stacy Teicher Khadaroo: How to get high school dropouts into 'recovery'? Soumya Karlamangla: Family sues NJ over gay-conversion therapy ban Susannah Snider: When to replace your financial adviser Jordan B. "Gorf" Gorfinkel's Everything's Relative: FINALLY! The solution to the global campaign to ostracize Israel The Kosher Gourmet by Rick Nelson: Celebrating vegetables, Italian-style ( 4 tantalizing recipes!>) Nov. 15, 2013 Rabbi Avraham Edelstein: The Quintessential soul food Caroline B. Glick: The demise of Pax Americana Steven Emerson: 'Muslim exception to the First Amendment'? Sandra Block: Watch out for the sales pitch Morgan Housel: Now is not the time to do anything stupid Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jewish MLB managers; Past and Present; Movie News and Dancing W/the Stars Shocker; Paula Abdul's Israeli bat mitzvah and bio facts rarely reported The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Lamb Stew with Dates and Zinfandel is a slightly sweet, aromatic feast and the perfect cold-weather entree

Jewish World Review Feb. 28, 2007 / 10 Adar, 5767 Democracy or Liberty By Walter Williams http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Does democracy really deserve the praise it receives? According to Webster's Dictionary, democracy is defined as "government by the people; especially: rule of the majority." What's so great about majority rule? Let's look at majority rule, as a decision-making tool, and ask how many of our choices we would like settled by what a majority likes. Would you want the kind of car that you own to be decided through a democratic process, or would you prefer purchasing any car you please? Ask that same question about decisions such as where you live, what clothes you purchase, what food you eat, what entertainment you enjoy and what wines you drink. I'm sure that if anyone suggested that these choices be subject to a democratic process, you'd deem it tyranny. I'm not alone in seeing democracy as a variant of tyranny. James Madison, the father of our Constitution, said that in a pure democracy, "there is nothing to check the inducement to sacrifice the weaker party or the obnoxious individual." At the 1787 Constitutional Convention, Edmund Randolph said, " . . . that in tracing these evils to their origin every man had found it in the turbulence and follies of democracy." John Adams said, "Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There was never a democracy yet that did not commit suicide." Chief Justice John Marshall observed, "Between a balanced republic and a democracy, the difference is like that between order and chaos." Our founders intended for us to have a limited republican form of government where rights precede government and there is rule of law. Citizens, as well as government officials, are accountable to the same laws. Government intervenes in civil society only to protect its citizens against force and fraud but does not intervene in the cases of peaceable, voluntary exchange. By contrast, in a democracy, the majority rules either directly or through its elected representatives. The law is whatever the government deems it to be. Rights may be granted or taken away. Clearly, we need government, and that means there must be collective decision-making. Alert to the dangers of majority rule, the Constitution's framers inserted several anti-majority rules. In order to amend the Constitution, it requires a two-thirds vote of both Houses, or two-thirds of state legislatures, to propose an amendment, and requires three-fourths of state legislatures for ratification. Election of the president is not done by a majority popular vote but by the Electoral College. Part of the reason for having two houses of Congress is that it places an obstacle to majority rule. Fifty-one senators can block the wishes of 435 representatives and 49 senators. The Constitution gives the president a veto to thwart the power of 535 members of Congress. It takes two-thirds of both houses of Congress to override the president's veto. In Federalist Paper No. 10, James Madison wrote, "Measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice and the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority." That's another way of saying that one of the primary dangers of majority rule is that it confers an aura of legitimacy and respectability on acts that would otherwise be deemed tyrannical. Liberty and democracy are not synonymous and could actually be opposites. 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. Walter Williams Archives © 2006, Creators Syndicate.

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