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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
May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

Emily Alpert: Recession dragged down birth rates for less-educated women
Morgan Housel: The deep downside of home ownership

Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

Heidi McIndoo, M.S., R.D.: Meatless 'meat' can have its own set of problems

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate! This must-try appetizer is delicate yet has depth of flavor: Corn-Leek Cakes with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

Mona Charen: Hawking's Moral Calculus: The man and the movement he embraces
Morgan Housel: The biggest retirement myth ever told

Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A sweet-hot meal: Pear salsa spices up salmon

May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility

May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage
Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

Kimberly Lankford: How to track down a lost life insurance policy

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

Mediterranean diet helps beat dementia: study
Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: A sweet surprise for Mother's Day dessert

May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Halena M. Gazelka, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: What you need to know about implanted pain relief devices

Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine

Jessica Shugart: When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs

The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The celebrated chef on how high-maintenance ASPARAGUS RISOTTO need not be

April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Major Leaguers, 2013; New Movies and Comedy Show; Shalom, 'Lumpy' (Leave it to Beaver)

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on
Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

Melissa Healy: Pot in a pill: All the pain relief without the smoke

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

US man departing country arrested on terror charges
Barbara Williams: An unorthodox but growing treatment in a 9-year-old's battle against cancer

P.J. Skerrett, M.D.: How to recognize a good whole grain product

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Teen actor Jonah Bobo in New Flick: Hunky James Wolk on Mad Men; Erich Segal's Daughter Writes Prize-Winning Jewish Novel


Jewish World Review Feb. 3, 2006 / 5 Shevat, 5766

Brilliant foreign policy and listless domestic policy

By Tony Snow

Tony Snow
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | President Bush distilled the essence of his presidency in this year's State of the Union Address: brilliant foreign policy and listless domestic policy.


Perhaps one should expect some lassitude on the home front. It happens often to presidencies at this stage, and it is both a testament and a curse that George W. Bush's people refuse to leave his side. He inspires loyalty and confidence. But over time, even the best burn out — or worse, lose their capacity to tell the boss, "Sir, that idea stinks."


This year's presidential clunkers included an energy policy filled with stuff that even Jimmy Carter abandoned. Declaring the nation "addicted to oil," the president suggested that a spending-addicted Congress take more of the public's money. He requested a 22-percent increase in clean-energy research for technologies that have been attached to the federal udder for decades — "zero-emission coal-fired plants; revolutionary solar and wind technologies; and clean, safe nuclear energy."


Having adopted the theory that Uncle Sam can become the father of innovation, the president cooed about "cutting-edge methods of producing methanol," and then outlined a plan that would transform yard clippings into motor fuel. The "bold" part was to predict that we'll see ethanol-fueled cars all over the place in about six years — and to recommend that the United States reduce its dependence on Middle East oil by 75 percent over the next 20 years.


It is as if some huckster got the chief executive's ear and told him about the can't-miss investment of the future: cellulose fermentation. Impressed, the president wants everybody to invest. It's like a chain letter, only compulsory.


In the same vein, the president announced an American Competitiveness Initiative that would pour more federal money (that spending addiction again) into scientific research, a research and development tax credit (for "bolder private-sector investment") and 100,000 new teachers. This is Clintonism, pure and simple.


None of this seems conservative. Why, for instance, should taxpayers underwrite energy or scientific research when, by the president's reckoning, the market's ready to jump at these wondrous things right now? Why not let the markets work their own magic, propelled by the boldest of all inspirations, the motivation to get stinking rich?


Recall the Federal Genome Project. This program was designed to harness the genius of the nation's foremost genetic researchers and decode the human genome. Off it sped, spending tens of millions of dollars — only to get beat to the punch by Celeron, a small company that got the job done at less than a tenth of the cost and a small fraction of the time.


The president's speech was equally remarkable for what it did not include: The president didn't mention school choice. He didn't utter the words, "Arctic National Wildlife Refuge." Ditto for "tax reform," "out-of-control spending" and "veto" (other than a disingenuous request for a line-item veto).


On the most visionary domestic idea of this presidency — the long-overdue overhaul of Social Security — he tossed in the towel, recommending a "commission" to study "the full impact of baby boom retirements on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid." We don't need a commission. Here's the answer: Baby boomers will break the bank.


The recommendation seems like an act of surrender. Just imagine the bumper sticker: "Vote Republican. Get Commissions!" There is a bright side, though. The commission plan does seem to concede the point that the Medicare reforms passed a couple of years ago are dogs, and need a big overhaul as well.


The president tried to wrap these initiatives up in a bundle called "the hopeful society" — a phrase almost as infelicitous as the oil-addiction line. To be hopeful is to dream of deliverance from misery or weakness; it is to feel that one has minimal power over one's fate. The sense of helplessness and the plea for white-horse government intervention may explain why Democrats adored these parts of the speech.


Make no mistake: Despite the shortcomings in the speech, George W. Bush is the only figure who counts in American politics. On the seminal issues of national security and global destiny, he positively dwarfs the political opposition.


This is why the timid domestic policy seems so puzzling. George W. Bush, the man who likes big ideas and loathes "miniball," ought to be thriving. Americans want boldness. They want someone who will take a machete to the budget and challenge the old ways with passion. They want policies that acknowledge our native brashness and enterprise, and promise to set it loose on a yearning world.


For now, however, they'll have to settle for dreams of filling their gas tanks with rotted corn stalks.

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