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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 Oct. 30, 2006 / 8 Mar-Cheshvan 5766

Our cheating hearts

By Mort Zuckerman

Mort Zuckerman
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | The possibility that the Detroit Tigers' Kenny Rogers slapped pine tar on his pitching hand to put a little more mustard on his breaking balls in the World Series shows once again how cheating scandals have become an epidemic in America. Just open Pandora's box:


Business: About 60 major corporations have had to restate their earnings after overstating them to juice their stock value-companies whose total value equaled $3 trillion. Along with that, we have illegally backdated stock options at company after company. Then there are the investment banks, guilty of conflicts of interest, that have been forced to give back profits and pay penalties of over a billion dollars. And these numbers don't even account for the actions of the kings of corporate sleaze at places like WorldCom and Enron, where hundreds of millions in market value vanished in a trice. Dennis Kozlowski of Tyco, the poster boy of corporate greed, has just begun a 25-year prison term for fraud, his style epitomized by combining farce and fraud: $6,000 spent on a shower curtain, which, incidentally, was purchased for his maid's bathroom.


Sports: We've gotten used to the wiles of football coaches in recruiting and the fudging of rules about academic standards for players. But now we have a rash of athletes alleged to be using performance-enhancing drugs, including Tour de France winner Floyd Landis, three-time Olympic medalist Justin Gatlin, and, of course, baseball's Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire. The list goes on and on. Danny Almonte, the Bronx boy who pitched a perfect game during a run-up to the Little League World Series in 2001, actually turned out to be two years older than he said, which would have made him ineligible for Little League ball.


Education: Students with disabilities can receive extra time on their SAT tests without having to be identified to college admission offices as disabled, a defensible practice now distorted by cheating. Some 2.5 million students are recognized as having learning disabilities, and 30,000 more are added to the list each year-a disproportionately large number of whom are from wealthy families who help their kids secure medical diagnoses of disability to get them more time on the SATs and give them an extra edge in their efforts to gain admission to universities. In a major study of both college and high school students by Duke University's Center for Academic Integrity, more than 70 percent of the students surveyed admitted to having cheated at least once on exams in the previous year. Why? If students see others cheating or teachers fail to see it or report it, is it any wonder so many conclude that cheating is essential to remaining competitive? Technological advances have made cheating easier than ever. Photo messaging, for instance, lets students contact friends outside the classroom with copies of exams.


Taxes: Many Americans believe, correctly, that they can get away with tax evasion, especially as investigations and prosecutions by the IRS have fallen off so dramatically. Some 2 million Americans are estimated to have illegal offshore bank accounts. The wealthier you are, the less the IRS goes after you because the wealthy can engage high-priced lawyers and accountants. Remember Leona Helmsley's famous comment, "We don't pay taxes; only the little people pay taxes"? Tax cheats like her cost the treasury as much as $500 billion a year.


Meanwhile, millions of Americans routinely engage in insurance fraud, cable-TV theft, and software piracy. What's so amazing is that many of these same people see themselves as decent, law-abiding citizens. What does it all mean for our society? David Callahan's book The Cheating Culture argues that Americans are not only cheating more, they're feeling less guilty about it. They think there is more to gain by cheating than to lose. Inflamed by envy-remember the success of the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous?-they seek to keep up not with the Joneses but with those who are much better off than the Joneses. The amount of money Americans feel necessary to fulfill their dreams has nearly doubled over the past nine years, from $50,000 a year to over $90,000.


Money, quite simply, has become more important to many people than reputation and personal integrity. The worship of success has long pervaded American culture, but this is something else again. Of course, millions of Americans work hard and play by the rules, but too many others cheat and cut corners. Why? Money. Take performance-enhancing drugs. Obviously, there's a clear connection between performance and paychecks.


This calls to mind the difference between shame cultures, where it's bad to get caught cheating, because of public obloquy, and guilt cultures, which rely on an inner voice telling individuals not to do wrong. America has long been a guilt culture. Are we really shifting toward a shame culture today?

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 Mort Zuckerman is editor-in-chief and publisher of U.S. News and World Report. Send your comments to him by clicking here.

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