BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

Republican Sex Scandals a Sign It's Time to End the Family Values Wars Republicans and Democrats should keep private lives private and divorce politics from "family values" By Robert Schlesinger An Oklahoma state legislator recently divined the cause of our economic funk. We are paying the price, according to a resolution state Rep. Sally Kern is sponsoring, for becoming a "world leader" in pornography, same-sex marriage, divorce, and other "forms of debauchery." It will come as no surprise that Kern is a Republican (a "Kern-servative" at that, according to her website). If the states are indeed the national parties' farm teams, the Sally Kerns of the world will doom the GOP. Republicans can no longer afford to lustily fight the culture wars, and it's time for them to sue for peace on the marriage front. The phrase "family values" first entered the political lexicon in the 1976 Republican platform, according to William Safir...

The End of the Jewish Newspaper? by Meredith Kesner Lewis A story came across my desk today discussing the fact that Jewish newspapers are fighting to stay alive in a world dominated by the internet. At the recent American Jewish Press Association conference, journalists asked themselves: How vulnerable are Jewish newspapers to the economic and social forces buffeting daily papers? Does having a reliable niche audience shield the Jewish press from ruin? Might Jewish papers fade in this age of Google and blogs? (MORE) I thought to myself, what year did this conference take place? 2000? For nearly a decade now, the journalism world has been redefining itself in the context of the web. Those that have not adapted, have not survived. Darwinism at its best. Brandeis professor Jonathan Sarna noted that: We really do have some first-class Jewish papers that have set a new standard for Jewish journalism,” he says. “There are significant stories that broke in the Jewish press because ...

Calling Out Idiot America (I've always been a history buff. Two instructors told me I should have minored in history in undergrad school. So, here's a good history lesson and some terrific thoughts from Scott Ritter about the current Iraq War and pending Iran situation. I sure hope SOMEONE in Washington who still has a working brain cell saw this.) by Scott Ritte r The ongoing hand-wringing in Congress by the newly empowered Democrats over what to do about the war in Iraq speaks volumes about the level of concern (or lack thereof) these “representatives of the people” have toward the men and women who honor us all by serving in the armed forces of the United States of America. The inability to reach consensus concerning the level of funding required or how to exercise effective oversight of the war, both constitutionally mandated responsibilities, is more a reflection of congressional cowardice and impotence than a byproduct of any heartfelt introspection over troop welfare ...