The Economy, Jobs and Justice
Jesse Jackson

The effort to save America's financial system and big banks has succeeded. However, the clot in financing remains. Finance is the blood of the economy. When there is a clot, the economy can't work and people suffer. Republicans contewnd that Obama's recovery plan has failed. Yet, they want to prescribe the same poison that created the breakdown in the first place.

Time for Obama to Look at Terrorism Differently
Jonah Goldberg

It is always dangerous to mistake your ideological preferences for shrewd political strategy, but that is precisely what President Obama and his advisors have done with the war on terror.

U.S. & China Trade Barbs After Google's Ultimatum
Alex Kingsbury

What began as a quiet post on Google's official blog has ballooned into a full fledged international tempest, with the U.S. and China trading barbs about the role of the government in regulating the Internet. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday condemned cyber attacks and called for an Internet where all have equal access to knowledge and ideas

How to Get Americans Working Again
Mortimer B. Zuckerman

There is no silver lining to the dark cloud that has enveloped America. A slight decline in the rate of job losses at the end of 2009, coupled with a rise in the GDP, gave hope that the U.S. was at the beginning of a recovery from the Great Recession. However that hope was. So, how can America accelerate job growth and the economy? There is no snap answer, but I do have a few proposals

Supreme Court Blindness: Unlimited Campaign Contributions
Jules Witcover

The Supreme Court has ignored precedent and inserted itself into politics, paving the way for an intensified campaign money arms race. That is the ramification of its 5-4 decision opening the floodgates to unlimited campaign contribution spending by corporate America. It brushes aside the 1947 protections in campaign finance law

 

Airport Security Checkpoints
(c) Walt Handelsman

Airline Travelers Should Fear Terrorists More Than Full-Body Scanners
James Jay Carafano

For those 'outraged' by the deployment of the full body scanners, where have you been since 9/11? These technologies are not new. The Transportation Security Administration has tested and evaluated them for years and given ample opportunity for public comment on how to regulate their use. So why is stopping the scanners suddenly a cause c�l�bre in some quarters?

Full-Body Scanners Offer a Sneak Peek at TSA Bumbling
Kate Hanni

Federal officials are back to square one on airport security, despite nearly a decade of effort and billions of dollars. Now the TSA believes that full-body scanners hold the absolute answer to the world's airport security woes. Does that mean that passengers nationwide can now breathe a collective sigh of relief? Well, not quite ...

Assessing Airport Security
Reader Comments

I don't really believe you can put a cost on security and the lives of air travelers. I think TSA [Transportation Security Administration] should do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of the traveling public. If that means X-ray screening or patting people down, then so be it.

What Airport Security Really Costs
Matthew Bandyk

Many Americans see waiting in lines, taking off their shoes, and other security measures as necessary evils. Since the Christmas incident, the government has planned to spend about $1 billion on full-body scanners and other security technology. However, the money spent on airport security goes far beyond the actual equipment.

Detroit - Who's Your Tiger
Mitch Albom

In the last 18 months, the auto industry has become something bigger than just the buying and selling of cars. It has become an ideological ground zero, a tug of war with many hands on the rope, labor, manufacturing, nationalism, elitism, environmentalism, jobs, the survival of a shrinking but vital American city: Detroit

Afghanistan: Report Calls Military Intelligence Ignorant and Oblivious
Anna Mulrine

A bracing critique of U.S. military intelligence in Afghanistan came from an unlikely source earlier this month: the head of U.S. military intelligence in Afghanistan. Widely circulated and hotly discussed, the report was remarkable for its blunt candor regarding the intelligence community's mode of operation in Afghanistan.

Supreme Court to Hear Sex Offender Imprisonment Case
Alex Kingsbury

The Supreme Court will hear two cases about the rights of defendants in the criminal justice system. One case challenges a law that gives the government the authority to keep convicted sex offenders behind bars after their sentences have been completed. In another case, lawyers contest the right of criminal defendants to question the lab technicians who compile forensic evidence reports.

Let Us All Now Bail Out the States
Ross Mackenzie

Most states must balance their budgets by constitutional stipulation -- a concept also viewed with a federal sneer. In the depression year of 2009, the feds bailed out the states to the tune of $87 billion. In the current fiscal year, state budget shortfalls are expected to total about $180 billion, with a like amount (or more) anticipated for fiscal 2011.

Wall Street CEOs: The Mea Culpa That Wasn't
Robyn Blumner

Here is the testimony I would have liked to have heard from the CEOs of Wall Street's largest banks -- institutions whose irresponsibility and greed nearly brought down the economy

 

Trainspotter's Guide to the Future of the World
Paul Kennedy

The article didn't make for pleasant reading, especially for people like myself who think that efficient railway services and other forms of well-run mass transport are a subtle but nifty measure of a country's level of civilization and, in most cases, of its social and economic fabric

Northwest Flight 253: Obama Slams Failed Intelligence Calls for Reform
Alex Kingsbury

In response to what President Obama called a 'mix of human and systemic failures' within the intelligence community leading to the failed Christmas Day airline bombing plot, the White House announced a series of steps to thwart future plots

Northwest Flight 253: Obama and Congress Probe How The Airport Screening System Failed
Alex Kingsbury

The failure of U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies to flag Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab before he took his seat on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit has prompted several federal reviews to ascertain what went wrong with the post-9/11 procedures specifically designed to spot potential terrorists before they attack

Northwest Flight 253: Cheney vs. Obama in Renewed Terrorism Fight
Kenneth T. Walsh

Republicans are attacking President Obama for being weak on national security in the wake of the attempted bombing on Christmas Day of a Northwest Airlines jetliner en route to Detroit. And the Democrats are fighting back with a vengeance. Former Vice President Dick Cheney is leading the charge for the GOP

Northwest Flight 253: Questions Must Be Asked But Not These
Leonard Pitts Jr

On Christmas Day, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a student from Nigeria, tried to blow up a jetliner bound for Detroit. He failed due to some defect in his explosives and the quick reflexes of passengers who subdued him. As you might expect, this close call has some of us asking hard, but necessary questions

Northwest Flight 253: A No-Fly List? Count Me In
Jonah Goldberg

The current debate over the underwear bomber is important and necessary, but it is detached from basic reality. To listen to the experts, the only relevant choice is between privacy and security. But people already understand that privacy is something you have to compromise to fly.

Terrorism: A War by Any Other Name
Cal Thomas

Suppose Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, the Christmas Day underwear bomber, had succeeded and blown up Northwest Airlines flight 253, killing nearly 300 people on board and perhaps others on the ground? Would the response of the Obama administration have been different?

Before Boarding Plane Remove All Clothing
Bill Press

Welcome to the Friendly Skies. Now take off all your clothes. In the wake of the failed terrorist attempt over Detroit on Christmas Day, it may not be long before those scary words greet you upon arriving at the airport, just before you step into the full-body scan machine.

Fight Against Terrorism Could Shift to Yemen
Joshua Kucera

In the wake of the airplane bombing attempt over Detroit on Christmas, President Obama vowed to take an aggressive stance against those who were behind the plot. 'The United States will do more than simply strengthen our defenses,' he said. 'We will continue to use every element of our national power to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat the violent extremists who threaten us.'

Yemen's Problems Are Ours, Too
Clarence Page

Yemen has become a top priority for the Obama administration since Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab allegedly tried to blow up a Detroit-bound jetliner on Christmas Day. Yemen is where he told authorities he received his training and the bomb that famously fizzled in his underwear.

Thwarting Terrorism
Reader Comments

If a security breach occurring on a president's watch makes him weak on security, then where does that leave Bush and Cheney? Obviously, the granddaddy of security breaches occurred on a Bush's watch

Flying Under the Influence of the TSA
Christopher Elliott

I won't insult you by repeating the obvious advice being dispensed by the so-called experts, such as arriving at the airport early or packing light. Instead, I'd like to take a longer view on traveling while under the influence of the TSA. Assuming that only half of the awful things people are saying about the agency are true, how do you fly?

Death to the Death Penalty
Robyn Blumner

People tend to have hardened views about the death penalty. Me, I'm opposed to it and always have been. But I ask the indulgence of those of you who favor the death penalty to give this a read and see what you think.

Understanding Why America Loves Animals, But Eats Them
Bonnie Erbe

A new book asks the question in the title, Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows, and then attempts to supply answers from a psychological perspective. Author and psychologist Melanie Joy has some pretty surprising answers to that question

Are the Holidays Too Secular
Reader Comments

I find it ironic that in a country so focused on individuality and diversity, it is becoming frowned upon to express our own ideas. If one celebrates Christmas, what is wrong with expressing it? If you celebrate Hanukkah, I'd be more than happy to hear you tell me 'Happy Hanukkah.' If you're offended, move to some country where no one can express ideas and freedoms don't exist.

Tiger Woods and Disposable Gods
Robert C. Koehler

Read the tabloids -- watch the tube -- if you want to know how a society that has lost its religiosity can still engage with the deities. The eerily appropriate term 'celebrity worship' is evidence of the extent to which we've improved on Greek culture: We've invented disposable gods and our latest example is Tiger Woods

Expensive Lesson: Gun is Not a Joke - Gilbert Arenas
Leonard Pitts Jr.

A gun is not a joke. Maybe Gilbert Arenas gets that now. But look at what it cost him to learn: his NBA livelihood, his reputation, maybe his freedom. But even at that, you could argue that Gilbert Arenas is a lucky man.

The War Against the Wannabe Rich
Victor Davis Hanson

There is class warfare going on in this country -- but it's not against the established rich. It's against those who are trying to become wealthy. Most of those targeted are not the already rich like Warren Buffett or Bill Gates. And they 're not the multimillionaire speculators on Wall Street who wrecked the American economy. Instead, it's professionals and small-business owners.

Asleep on the Terrorist Watch: Northwest Flight 253
Paul Greenberg

It was just as frightening, and in its own way even more infuriating, than the almost successful attempt to blow up Northwest Flight 253 as it approached Detroit on Christmas Day. I'm talking about the wholly unacceptable comment/excuse offered by this country's secretary of supposed Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano.

Obama Asks for Vigilance After Attempted Terrorist Attack
Kenneth T. Walsh

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has claimed responsibility for the attempted attack in which Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, whose family is from Nigeria, tried to ignite an explosive but the chemicals failed to detonate. He was subdued by other passengers, and the aircraft landed safely

Northwest Flight 253: Fighting Among Ourselves Helps How
Mary Sanchez

Now might be a good time to remind everyone that terrorists don't literally have to hit their mark to make a mark. Sure, the young Nigerian failed to blow up that Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day. His mission foundered on his own bumbling and the quick action of crew and passengers in tamping the flames. But considered from another perspective, he hit the bulls-eye.

Northwest Flight 253: Targeting the Prime Enemy
Jules Witcover

The news of another foiled suicide attack on an American airliner in flight has triggered a new political headache for President Obama, on top of his already overloaded plate of challenges

Northwest Flight 253: Multiple Malfunctions
Cal Thomas

Had it not been for a malfunctioning detonator, nearly 300 people traveling on a Christmas Day flight might have perished. Only the faulty device, along with some fast-acting passengers, prevented a disaster. But the detonator was not the only malfunction in this near-catastrophe.

Obama Decision to Move Guantanamo Detainees Spurs Opposition
Anna Mulrine

President Obama has directed the federal government to buy a maximum-security Illinois prison to hold Guant�namo Bay detainees setting off what promises to be a spirited Capitol Hill battle with Republicans.

I Survived the GOP Purity Test
Mary Kate Cary

Certainly, the media jumped on reports of a proposed Republican National Committee 'purity test' as only the latest example of GOP extremism. However, the actual content of the 10-point 'purity test' is pretty mainstream. So what is so outrageous ...

2009 Chickens and Their 2010 Roost
Victor Davis Hanson

2009 may seem to have ended relatively quietly for the world. But in foreign relations, in the war against terror, in massive borrowing, and in energy policies, we created chickens that soon will come home to roost in 2010

The Caring Economy and Healthcare as Human Right
Anna Mulrine

'Health care is a human right, and that every citizen ... should have access to health care, just as every citizen has access to the fire department, the police or public schools.' And for a moment the fog of jargon and compromise lifted and a vision of what's possible hovered over Congress. America could return to the task of creating what economist Riane Eisler calls 'the caring economy.'

End of a Woeful Decade
Jules Witcover

Any way you slice it, the decade from 2000 through 2009 was on the whole about as bad a stretch for Americans as many of us have endured in our lifetimes

Year of Living Quotably: Quirky Quotes 2009
Clarence Page

You can tell a lot about a year from its great quotations. In the age of ubiquitous cell phone, surveillance and reality-TV show cameras, this was the year of living famously. Our cup of quirky quotes runneth over. A sampling:

Resolved: Tell the Truth
Cal Thomas

Congress might resolve to tell the truth in 2010. Most members probably know what truth is, but they cannot speak it for fear of offending groups that traffic in lies and fund their re-election campaigns. Lies usually raise more money than the truth. Which brings me to health care reform. Here's some memorable quotes from the 25-day health care debate. And there are some whoppers.

Season's Greetings and We'll See You in Court: The Christmas Wars
Paul Greenberg

It just wouldn't be the holiday season without the annual squabble over Christmas decorations in public places. It's as expected as 'The Little Drummer Boy.' And about as monotonous. But tradition must be observed.

It's Still a Wonderful Life
Paul Greenberg

To many Americans, the Christmas season wouldn't be complete without at least a few scenes from 'It's a Wonderful Life.' The movie wasn't a box-office hit when it was released just after the Second World War, but it's acquired quite a following since -- and even some critical acclaim.

Congress Moves Forward on Media Shield Law
Alex Kingsbury

Legislation designed to protect journalists' confidential sources from being exposed in open court is progressing toward becoming law as the Senate prepares to vote on its version of the shield law. The House passed a version of the bill in March, but objections from the White House and others wary of its national security implications had stalled the Senate's progress until this month

An Elegy for Journalism? The Future of the News and Journalism
Peter Osnos

The twenty-first century has been a traumatic one for journalism. Changes in how people consume news combined with the Great Recession have produced a dark era in journalism. In Losing the News, Alex Jones, addresses how the rise of the Internet and the precipitous decline in advertising have left print journalism in desperate straits.

The New Energy Order
David G. Victor and Linda Yueh

The last decade has seen an extraordinary shift in expectations for the world energy system. After a long era of excess capacity prices for oil and most energy commodities have risen sharply and become more volatile. As such, a crisis is looming which will be difficult to resolve.

Internet Slip Leads to Trouble for TSA
Alex Kingsbury

The TSA placed five employees on administrative leave and launched a full review to determine how an improperly redacted copy of the agency's manual for airport security screening was published on a publicly accessible website for government contractors.

Anti-Gun Rumor Is Wrong
Paul Bedard

It's a rumor spreading like wildfire: Secret legislation signed by the president will tax all guns, require owners to be fingerprinted, require all guns be reported to the IRS, and bar gun ownership by Americans over 60. Unlikely as it is that lawmakers could secretly pass anti-gun legislation, stranger things have happened in Washington. So is it true?

America Through the Reality Lens
Jonah Goldberg

Culturally, this has been the decade of the reality show. And what do we have to show for it? Not much more than the contestants themselves.

Merry Christmas, Not Happy Holidays
Henry E. Brown

Communities across the country are abuzz with the 'acceptable' way to observe this holiday season, but why should those who celebrate Christmas feel pressure to say 'Season's greetings' or 'Happy holidays,' reluctant to express traditional Christmas words of good cheer?

Commercialism Only Adds to Joy of the Holidays
Onkar Ghate

I'm an atheist, and I love Christmas. If you think that's a contradiction, think again. Christmas serves as a time to reconnect with cherished family and friends, to share important events of the past year, and to look forward to the next.

William Eggers discusses his book If We Can Put a Man on the Moon
Jessica Rettig

The majority of Americans do not believe that the federal government is capable of major policy initiatives. After studying 75 major U.S. policy initiatives since World War II, William D. Eggers and John O'Leary wrote "If We Can Put a Man on the Moon...Getting Big Things Done in Government." Eggers discusses th book with Jessica Rettig

Journalism: Desperate Metaphors, Revenue Models and the Need for Better Journalism
Arianna Huffington

Apparently, some in the old media have decided that it is, in fact, an either/or game and that the best way to save, if not journalism, at least themselves, is by pointing fingers and calling names. It's a tactic familiar to schoolyard inhabitants everywhere: when all else fails, reach for the nearest insult and throw it around indiscriminately.

TSA to Conduct Full Review After Sensitive Information Leak
Alex Kingsbury

TSA officials say that a full review is underway to determine how a 2008 copy of its standard operating procedures for all airport security checkpoints was released in its entirety on the Internet.

Senate Report Revisits Osama bin Laden's Great Escape
Alex Kingsbury

Less than a month after the 9/11 attacks, the military began bombing al Qaeda targets in Afghanistan. It was the start of a campaign orchestrated by the CIA and Special Forces troops that quickly ousted the ruling Taliban from power but led to an insurgency that continues today

Assigning Blame in the White House Crasher Scandal
Reader Comments

It is terrifying that someone could get past 'security' and get that close to some of the most powerful people in the world

 

(c) Nancy Ohanian

'The Great Global Security Underwriter' Will Pay a High Price
William Pfaff

Most surveys on America's two current wars and on foreign policy generally, find majority support for staying at home and minding America's own business. Especially now, when it has become no longer possible to treat the national deficit as if it doesn't matter, and when the president has just ordered another 'surge' of troops to the Afghanistan war.

Obama's Surge in Afghanistan Hardly a Surprise
William Pfaff

There was much disappointment about Barack Obama's decision to widen the war in Afghanistan, but there can have been no real surprise. This was not a detached decision on foreign or military policy. It was a matter of domestic politics.

U.S. May Take New Look at 'War on Drugs'
Andres Oppenheimer

In a tacit admission that current U.S. anti-drug policies are not working, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill to create an independent commission to review whether the U.S. anti-drug policies of the past three decades in Latin America are producing positive results. What's interesting about the planned independent drug policy commission ...

Financial Crisis, Enron, Hurricane Katrina Examples of Leadership Gone Wrong
Tamara Lytle

The New Orleans masses who huddled in the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina, the Enron retirees who lost their life savings, and the laid-off workers buried under the economic ruin of financial companies all live with a simple truth. Just as spectacularly as great leadership can spark success, failed leadership can bring down cities, businesses, and economies

Crisis Management: Leading Successfully Through the Storm
Bret Schulte

Contemporary examples of strong crisis leadership are in surprisingly short supply, experts say. And all too often, the reaction to a crisis is to hunker down and ride it out. But there are a few modern standouts, especially in the business world.

How to Fix the Financial System: Let Federal Reserve oversee new regulations for finance giants
Mortimer B. Zuckerman

In the grip of our Great Recession, with more job losses to come, we have yet to fix the broken financial system that is an underlying cause of this whole mess. How can we do it?

Holder Defends Civilian Trials for Terror Suspects
Alex Kingsbury

Since Obama took office 10 months ago, the Justice Department has been deciding which suspected terrorists will be handled by the military and which will face civilian trials, as the prison at Guant�namo Bay continues to empty at Obama's direction

New York Terrorism Trial Will Show U.S. at Its Best
Robert Schlesinger

My first reaction when I heard that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four of his cohorts would be tried in federal court in my hometown of New York was: Of course we're using our justice system. We're America. That's just how we roll. It's a flip response, but it's also true.

Congress and Pentagon Look for Answers After Fort Hood
Anna Mulrine

The White House refused the invitation for administration officials to testify at the first hearing on the Fort Hood shootings, but Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the Connecticut Independent, forged ahead. Across town, the Pentagon, in what many saw as a textbook move of political preemption, announced it would be launching its own investigation into the rampage that killed 13 people.

The Good Soldiers: U.S. Troops and the Wounds of War in Baghdad
Anna Mulrine

The 2nd Battalion of the 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division -- the 2-16, as it's called -- spent 15 months in 2007 and 2008 in one of the toughest areas of Baghdad at the height of the surge. David Finkel chronicles their story in The Good Soldiers

We Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
Victor Davis Hanson

High unemployment, the recession and a terrorist resurgence in Afghanistan are bad enough. But there are a number of problems on the horizon that could dwarf President Obama's first-year trials. Why the pessimism? In short, we are doing nothing to prepare for the crises to come.

The War on the Book
Paul Greenberg

In Ashburnham, Massachusetts, a prep school has just given up on books. The headmaster of Cushing Academy, one James Tracy, doesn't see any need for them. Not any more. Anybody who's anybody or wants to be now has an iPhone with apps, a Kindle or whatever the Next Big Thing turns out to transiently be. Who needs books?

Levi Johnston's 15 Minutes Are Up
Carl Hiaasen

Times are hard, but the pathway to fame in America has never been easier. No talent is required -- you can go on a shooting spree, give birth to octuplets or launch a homemade balloon from your backyard and tell the cops that your little boy is trapped inside. Exhibit A is Levi Johnston, who ascended to stardom by knocking up Sarah Palin's oldest daughter

Terror Trials Are Our Defining Moment
Leonard Pitts Jr.

If critics of Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to try Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and his terrorist confederates in a New York City courtroom would be honest with themselves, they'd admit that this is what drives their condemnation, not questions of security, fears of acquittal or other obfuscatory concerns they've raised.

Trying Terrorists in U.S. is Dangerous
Cal Thomas

The Obama administration has chosen the wrong New York venue to try five co-conspirators in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. Instead of a Manhattan courtroom less than a mile from the site of where the World Trade Center stood, the government should have chosen the Bronx Zoo, because a zoo is what will be created when this terrorist trial is held.

Civilian Courts Fight Terrorists, Too
Clarence Page

Terrorists by definition try to frighten you into changing the way you do things. In the run-up to his trial as alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, Khalid Sheik Mohammed's success as a terrorist is showing in us. A lot of good patriotic law-'n'-order Americans suddenly sound frightened by our own civilian judicial system.

It's No Way to Fight a War on Terror
Jonah Goldberg

I get where President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder are coming from. They think that if we change our way of life, the terrorists will have won. In principle, I agree. If upholding our values makes fighting the war on terror harder, then it should be harder

What, No Ticker-Tape Parade?
Paul Greenberg

Why is the Obama administration transferring Khalid Sheik Mohammed, who proudly proclaims himself the mastermind of the September 11 attacks, to a federal district court in New York?

The Politics of Fort Hood
Jonah Goldberg

Let me say up front, I don't think President Obama is to blame for the Fort Hood shootings, and I don't think it's fair to say otherwise. But (you knew there had to be a 'but'), that doesn't mean Obama won't pay a political price for Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan's rampage.

Fort Hood: The Scapegoat Syndrome
Paul Greenberg

A familiar pattern emerges after every treacherous assault on this country. The surprise attack is dissected not just to learn who wreaked all the havoc, but who was responsible for missing the clues that it was coming.

Isolated Incident at Fort Hood
Robert Koehler

Moving forward from the Fort Hood massacre, three narratives -- well, one of them is no more than the familiar, all-purpose shrug of experts, puzzled over yet another 'isolated incident' -- are vying to explain what happened and set the direction of our future

Same Old, Same Old at Fort Hood
Victor Davis Hanson

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is accused of murdering 13 people (12 of whom were soldiers) and wounding another 30 at Fort Hood, Texas. We now see that authorities had, or should have had, reason to be suspicious of Hasan

Tale of Two Journalists
Mary Sanchez

Are journalistic standards holding up under the stresses the profession is facing? Two recent events offer an opportunity for reflection.

U.S. is Striking Back in the Global Cyberwar
Alex Kingsbury and Anna Mulrine

The two-day 'Cyberdawn' exercise, one of the country's premier electronic war games. It is run with the help of volunteers by the private firm White Wolf Security, which also arranges closed war games for some federal agencies. The chance to test their cyberskills has attracted groups from private companies as well as the U.S. military

U.S. Civil Rights Commission Investigates College Admission Bias
Zach Miners

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is investigating whether college admission offices are discriminating against female applicants to achieve gender balance in their student bodies.

Public Transportation and Fast Commutes: Harder to Find Than You Might Think
Matthew Bandyk

As clogged as our highways are, driving is generally a much faster method of commuting than public transportation. Nationwide, the average time for driving alone to work is 24 minutes, while for public transportation, it is 48.3 minutes

Cities for People Who Hate Driving and Long Commutes
Matthew Bandyk

Even though the recession has made it hard to move, many Americans are still trying to flee their cul-de-sacs and long freeway commutes for walkable neighborhoods closer to public transportation and their jobs

Moves to Seize Mosques Spark Outrage
Dan Gilgoff and Alex Kingsbury

Government authorities had long suspected that the Alavi charitable foundation, associated with the late shah of Iran, was linked to the country's current ruling theocracy

Supreme Court Weighs Juvenile Life Sentences
Alex Kingsbury

Four years ago, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-to-4 decision that executing anyone for a crime committed when he or she was younger than 18 is unconstitutional. On Monday, lawyers arguing on behalf of two Florida prisoners tried to convince the court that the rationale behind the death penalty decision also should extend to life sentences because they are equivalent to executions behind bars.

United States: Single-eyed Vision
Robert C. Koehler

The promise the United States once represented to the world has spent itself, and what we have to offer in terms of opportunity, or at least hope, is overshadowed by the spreading shadow of our hubris. And it's all coming home to roost.

Shock and Sadness After Fort Hood Shootings
Anna Mulrine

It was not a place they expected to be attacked. Soldiers tote their rifles with them everywhere when they are at war but generally not when they are in America. "As a matter of practice, we don't carry weapons here," said Army Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, the base commander of Fort Hood in Texas. "This is our home."

Jihadists in the Military - Fort Hood Shootings
Cal Thomas

No amount of evidence -- from Koran verses urging the killing of 'infidels,' to cries of 'God is great,' reportedly shouted by the alleged Ft. Hood shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan -- will cure our self-deception. Sun Tzu famously wrote that all war is deception. But it takes two to deceive and the United States is behaving like a willing partner

Human Survival The Twin Brother of Nuclear Annihilation
Robert C. Koehler

Whether the underlying premise is faulty or valid, the nuclear weapons industry is here to stay as long as people believe in sufficient numbers that our survival is 'the twin brother of annihilation.'

What the Census Will Get Wrong
Mary Sanchez

The 2010 U.S. Census will shortly be upon us, and by now you may have heard one of the patriotic pitches to comply. Every breathing soul must be tallied during the massive federal endeavor, the national headcount taken every decade. The census is central to the functioning of our democracy, we're told.

Military Contractors and the Perils of Outsourcing War
Alex Kingsbury

Half the U.S. presence in Afghanistan and Iraq is made up not of soldiers, marines, and airmen but of private contractors. And although contractors are not combat troops, almost 1,800 of them have been killed since 9/11. Allison Stanger says this is a dangerous and unprecedented outsourcing of foreign policy that bodes ill for the future of the nation. Her latest book, One Nation Under Contract

Woman's Place Is at the Pentagon
Anna Mulrine

The ranks of American women in defense have grown over the years. Michele Flournoy, the under secretary of defense for policy, is the No. 3 civilian in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, outranking all of the U.S. military combatant commanders. Women now make up 37 percent of the Defense Department's civil labor force and about 12 percent of its active-duty military rank

Today's U.S. Army and Its Ambitions
William Pfaff

It is possible that the creation of an all-professional American army was the most dangerous decision ever taken by Congress. The nation now confronts a political crisis in which the issue has become an undeclared contest between Pentagon power and that of a newly elected president.

Viewing the Cost of War
Jules Witcover

President Obama's middle-of-the-night visit to Dover Air Force Base to view the return of 18 Americans killed in Afghanistan was a dignified recognition of their sacrifice. But it also was a reminder to him of the human stakes in his long deliberations on the course to take in the war triggered by the 9/11 terrorist attacks of eight years ago.

Voting Present on Illegal Immigration
Victor Davis Hanson

Immigration activists are demanding that President Obama deliver on his promised comprehensive package of immigration reform. However, expect the public to oppose any so-called comprehensive immigration reform even more vehemently than it did George Bush's 2007 doomed proposals. Here's why ...

Three Dangerous Stooges: Gadhafi, Ahmadinejad & Chavez
Victor Davis Hanson

Recenty, three dictators -- from Iran, Libya and Venezuela -- delivered lunatic hate speeches at the UN General Assembly. Why do these dictators feel so free to damn America from downtown New York? Why do their abettors spurn our requests for help? And why do creepy regimes plot to get nukes, and fund terrorists? Easy. They do not fear, much less listen ...

A Simple Plan for Killing al Qaeda
Alex Kingsbury Interviews Howard Clark

Howard Clark's answer is to both amplify the nihilism of its message and promote moderate Islamic voices. Clark, a former marine who served two tours in Iraq, now works as a consultant on counter-terrorism problems for the Department of Defense. He is also president and founder of Seventh Pillar, a nonprofit that seeks to combat al Qaeda's ideology. He recently spoke about his three-part plan for strengthening moderates and defeating extremists

Golden Opportunity to Declaw Patriot Act
Robyn Blumner

You remember the USA Patriot Act, don't you? It was that 342-page bill that sped through a supplicant Congress within weeks of 9/11, dismantling our privacy rights like a castoff Hollywood set. A reauthorization in 2006 made some things better and some worse, but mostly the law stayed the same -- really bad for American freedom. Well, it is time to revisit the Patriot act

The Long War (September 11, 2001 -- )
Paul Greenberg

This long, long war now enters its ninth year, counting from that fateful September morning when everything changed, or was supposed to change. After that terrible morning, not even the blindest could deny that America had been attacked. Yet this war had been going on for years. The same enemy had launched earlier attacks in Somalia, against U.S. embassies in Africa, and off the coast of Yemen against the USS Cole.

Culture War, Literally
Leonard Pitts Jr

I don't know who coined the term 'culture war' to describe our political divisions, but I'm reasonably sure he or she intended it only as a figure of speech. It feels like something else in light of a new report which monitors extremist groups. 'Terror From the Right' is a listing of bombers, killers, would-be assassins and insurrectionists motivated by anger over abortion, gays, taxes, blacks, Muslims and illegal immigrants. Which raises an obvious fair and balanced question: What about terror from the left?

Why Do I Mistrust Fox? Let Me Count the Ways
Leonard Pitts Jr

Fox News is in a class by itself. In its epidemic inaccuracy, its ongoing disregard for basic journalistic standards of fairness, its demagogic appeals and its blatantly ideological promotions it is, indeed, unique -- a news source in name only. That's not just an opinion: a 2003 study found Fox viewers more likely to be misinformed than those who get their news elsewhere.

How the Lowest-Paid Workers Get Ripped Off
Liz Wolgemuth

According to a new study, the average low-wage urban worker earning $339 a week is cheated out of $51 of that amount by an employer committing one or more workplace violations--such as paying less than minimum wage, refusing overtime pay, requiring off-the-clock work, or preventing workers compensation claims.

Pitchfork Populists Play Press for Putzes -- Again
Mary Sanchez

The shame of the health care reform debate is not that citizens are coming unglued -- although some of them certainly are. It's that the media can't seem to get enough of the outbursts of a handful of vocal people at town hall meetings across the country. We seem to have lost our way, suckered into showing the footage over and over again, so that the protests are the story, period.

No Charity for Child Predators
Leonard Pitts Jr.

We lack consensus on what to do with sexual predators. From the Catholic Church shielding pederastic priests to the profusion of databases that let you check if your neighbor is a sex offender, to the pseudo celebrity enjoyed by Mary Kay Letourneau when she married her former student Vili Fualaau, whom she raped when he was 12 and she was 34, our responses scream irresolution.

Michael Leiter Works to Keep Tabs on Terrorists
Alex Kingsbury

In his current job as head of the National Counterterrorism Center, Michael Leiter is again in the business of interfering with the enemy. But instead of radar units in the former Yugoslavia or air defenses in Iraq, the adversary is global terrorist networks. And rather than scramble enemy communications, he is coming up with new strategies to match the new attitudes in the intelligence community.

Biofuel Technology and Performance Issues Could Slow Acceptance
Ari Axelrod

Biofuels are a conundrum. Their potential advantages are undeniable: reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, lessening of our dependency on imported oil, support of domestic agriculture. And they certainly have their supporters. The Obama administration repeatedly affirmed its backing of rapid development of alternative energy sources, including biofuels. Still, the hurdles are high.

America's 10 Best Places to Grow Up
Luke Mullins

Low crime, strong schools, green spaces, and fun activities are key ingredients for a happy childhood. So we dug into our database of 2,000 different places all across the country and pinpointed the locales that met these criteria. We then examined these communities more closely to determine which places offered the best combination ...

Frustrated Baby Boomers Alienated from the Political Debate
by Mary Kate Cary

There's a big disconnect in politics right now. The older baby boomers, the ones in their 50s and 60s, are increasingly left out of the political discourse. That crowd is part of the biggest demographic segment of our population -- more than a quarter of our citizens. They're dismayed that their local newspaper -- if it still exists -- places more emphasis on obituaries and local real estate news. Any national news is buried somewhere far from the front page. They feel like they can't get issue-oriented policy news anymore and are ...

GT RT BCK TO U -
(c) Dana Summers

Put the Brakes on Driving While Texting
Leonard Pitts Jr.

The amazing thing about the debate over the need for laws to ban texting while driving is that there is a debate over the need for laws to ban texting while driving. In the first place, you'd think you wouldn't need a law, that simple common sense would be enough to tell us it's unsafe to divert attention to a tiny keyboard and screen while simultaneously piloting two tons of metal, rubber, glass and, let us not forget, flesh, at freeway speeds -- or even street speeds.

The Call of the Highway (From a Cell Phone)
Garrison Keillor

In Minnesota it's illegal to text-message while driving -- trying to type on a tiny keypad at 70 mph is crazy -- but it's legal to make calls while driving, which in my case means removing my glasses so I can see to scroll down the directory while steering with my knees at 70 mph. I call up my mother while driving, which is exciting for her since she is 94 and remembers when phones were attached to the wall and you talked on them while standing still. 'Is that safe?' she says.

Working to Improve the Economy
Kenneth T. Walsh Interviews Christina Romer

Christina Romer -- chairwoman of the president's Council of Economic Advisers -- recently spoke with Kenneth T. Walsh about what has gone wrong, when an economic recovery might occur, and what it's like to work with President Obama.

Our Angry Aristocracy
Victor Davis Hanson

Scolding Americans for our various sins is proving popular among an elite group of self-appointed moralists. Take well-meaning environmentalists who warn us that our plush lifestyles heat up and pollute the planet. Elite critics in the business of racial grievance offer the same contradictions. Then we have other aristocrats on the barricades railing about the economic inequality of America.

America's Homeland Security Surplus
William Pfaff

Janet Napolitano, Barack Obama's secretary of Homeland Security gave a talk at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, meant to convince American civil libertarians and security specialists that the country can be kept safe, and neighborly as well.

Janet Napolitano's Tough Job at Homeland Security
Alex Kingsbury

Chief among the issues Janet Napolitano will have to address is defining a mission for her agency. Rather than a well-oiled machine responsible for keeping America safe after 9/11, as Bush administration officials claimed, Homeland Security is actually an organizational mess, says homeland security expert Stephen Flynn

Declassified Documents Reveal KGB Spies in U.S.
Alex Kingsbury

In the two decades since the end of the Cold War, various archives in formerly Communist countries have been opened to historians, who have eagerly pored over their files in the hopes of fitting more pieces into the Cold War's most vexing jigsaw puzzles. A new history of Soviet espionage in America full advantage of a brief peek at one of the crown jewels of Cold War history, the brown and green file folders of the KGB's American Department.

California's Dysfunctional Democracy Leaves Bleak Budget, Future
Mortimer B. Zuckerman

For decades, California was the state of dreams, the home of Hollywood, sunshine, and a boom that extended from defense spending to dot com and high tech, one that produced the revenue to invest state dollars in schools, universities, and freeways. It became America's fastest-growing large state. Now it is an object lesson for the whole nation on what not to do.

President Obama
(Samantha Appleton)

Obama's Approval Ratings Show a Summer Slump
Kenneth T. Walsh

President Obama got some good news this week.

His nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court was approved by the Senate on a 68 to 31 vote. She is the first Latina on the high court, and her confirmation is a definite victory for the new administration.

But Sotomayor's approval masks some serious problems for Obama. In short, he is in a summer slump as the President's first priority, legislation to overhaul the health-care system, is still running into trouble on Capitol Hill.

Obama Doctrine: Spread Freedom? Not so Much
by Jonah Goldberg

The Obama Administration has made it clear that spreading freedom is so much ideological foolishness. Before the inauguration, he told The Washington Post that he was concerned with "actually delivering a better life for people on the ground and less obsessed with form, more concerned with substance." There's merit to this view in principle, though Obama seems to be thinking about "economic justice" more than a free society. But in practice, when American presidents say they don't care about democracy, tyrants rejoice.

House Buys Time for Transportation Overhaul
Amanda Ruggeri

By passing a $7 billion patch for the Highway Trust Fund, many in the House of Representatives hope they've bought themselves enough time to pass a massive transportation spending bill that would reshape both how America's transportation operates and how it's funded. But with the administration and the Senate opposed to passing the larger bill now, it might not be enough to get the $500 billion package through Congress -- at least not before the current law expires this fall.

Women Sell Their Eggs, So Why Not a Kidney
Amanda Ruggeri

I was as upset as anyone by the allegations of organ selling associated with New Jersey's recent corruption scandal resulting in more than 40 arrests. But a Wall Street Journal column this week calling for more incentives for folks to donate organs makes the issue seem more complex than at first blush.

Is the Economic Marriage Between China and U.S. on the Rocks?
Niall Ferguson Interview

China and America had effectively fused to become a single economy: Chimerica. The Chinese did the saving, the Americans the spending. The Chinese did the exporting, the Americans the importing. The Chinese did the lending, the Americans the borrowing. As the Chinese strategy was based on export-led growth, they had no desire to see their currency appreciate against the dollar. The unintended effect of this was to help finance the U.S. current account deficit at very low interest rates. Without that, it's hard to believe that U.S. financial markets would have bubbled the way they did from 2002 to 2007.

Boomers, Housing and Retirement:
A Symbiotic Relationship Unravels
By Mark Miller

The housing market is showing some tentative signs of recovery. But if you're a baby boomer relying on housing wealth to help fund retirement, don't hold your breath. True, the most recent Standard and Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index showed that U.S. home prices rose in May on a month-to-month basis for the first time since July 2006. But that shouldn't be taken as a sign that the market is going to rebound to pre-crash levels anytime soon. At best, the Case-Shiller index hints that we may have found a bottom in housing. Maybe

 

healthcare reform

Hard Choices on Healthcare Reform
by Mortimer B. Zuckerman

In the 1980s, if you had a heart attack and got to the hospital, you had about a 60 percent chance of living a year. Today, it is over 90 percent. We have been able to transform the health of the American public because of the rapid development of new medicines and technology. These innovations have come at a cost: They are responsible for as much as two thirds of the annual spending increases in healthcare. We'd like to get back to the costs of 1980, but nobody is willing to go back to 1980 medicine

Healthcare Reform's Effect on You
by Bernadine Healy M.D.

Some elements might change before a final healthcare bill is in hand, but enough common threads have emerged for people to look beyond the headlines for an idea of how the new healthcare system will affect them personally. For starters, consider these seven ways in which your healthcare experience is apt to change ...

Ruth Bader Ginsburg and a Question of Eugenics
by Jonah Goldberg

Ginsburg was surprised when the Supreme Court in 1980 barred taxpayer support for abortions for poor women. After all, if poverty partly described the population you had "too many of," you would want to subsidize it in order to expedite the reduction of unwanted populations. Left unclear is whether Ginsburg endorses the eugenic motivation she ascribed to the passage of Roe v. Wade or whether she was merely objectively describing it

Walter Cronkite On Assignment
(c) Paul Conrad

Walter Cronkite Dies at 92
Brian Lowry

Walter Cronkite died Friday at the age of 92, but the kind of journalism he represented -- tough, spare, serious -- has been on the wane since he left the anchor's chair.

As anchor of 'The CBS Evening News,' Cronkite was often referred to as 'the most trusted man in America.'

When he spoke out against the Vietnam War on the air, President Lyndon Johnson famously remarked, 'If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America.' TV news anchors in those days were deeply respected figures on the American landscape -- Cronkite most of all. Today, the leading news anchors have been seriously diminished.

 

We're Too Self-Absorbed Today to Dream of the Moon
Mitch Albom

We heard Neil Armstrong say "One small step for man ... one giant leap for mankind" and when the shadowy spaceman seemed settled on ground, we all clapped, because it felt like that's what we should do, clap for something great. And it was something great. I have been trying to figure out why that moment, July 20, 1969, still resonates with me, still gives me goose bumps 40 years later, and why, on the anniversary of that event Monday, it seems as if I'll never feel that way again.

 

Political History of the Stars & Stripes
by Andrew Burt

The history of the American flag is the story of a nation struggling to find its identity, Woden Teachout argues in her new book, Capture the Flag: A Political History of American Patriotism. Teachout, a professor of graduate studies in history and culture at the online Union Institute and University, recently spoke about the evolving meaning of the flag in American culture.

On Terror 'No-Fly' List, But Still Buying Guns
Clarence Page

For gun purchasers, should "no-fly" mean "no buy?" People on the government's terrorist watch list tried to buy guns almost 1,000 times in the last five years, a federal study finds. In nine out of 10 cases, federal authorities let them do it, the report finds, because there was no legal way to stop them. And that appears to be OK with the gun lobby

Break Political Traffic Jam on Transportation Overhaul
Joshua Schank and Matthew Dallek

Any transportation project, including the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere" in Alaska, creates jobs. However, transportation has become a policy orphan amid the healthcare tsunami that's overwhelmed the news coverage of Obama's America. Thus, stalling all the economic benefits that flow from enacting a revitalized transportation policy.

Supreme Court: Strip Search of 13-Year-Old Unconstitutional
by Zach Miners

In a decision that could have significant implications for school administrators' ability to keep their campuses safe, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, 8 to 1, this week that the strip search of a 13-year-old Arizona girl by school officials who were looking for prescription-strength drugs violated her constitutional rights.

America's New Energy Dependency: China's Metals
by Kent Garber

America's Clean-energy economy needs rare-earth metals to succeed and China has a near monopoly. In 2007, a standoff unfolded between China and several American companies. China was threatening to withhold supplies that keep refiners in business. A worried State Department intervened. Because the metals come almost exclusively from China, if the government had not acted, sources say, oil refineries could have been forced to shut down, possibly triggering shortages across the country.

Yucca Mountain: Harry Reid Declares Nevada Nuclear Containment Facility Dead
Robert Bryce

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has declared that Yucca Mountain, the site in Nevada where the federal government has been planning to store high-level radioactive waste, is "never going to open." Reid may be right. President Obama's 2010 budget nearly zeroes out federal funding for the waste site.

Bulldozing American Cities: Shrink to Survive Flint, Michigan Program
by Cal Thomas

There are perhaps dozens of small towns and failing neighborhoods beginning to resemble ghost towns. The Obama administration reportedly is considering whether to broaden an experimental shrink to survive program in Flint, Mich., -- one of the nation's poorest cities -- that proposes to raze districts within some cities and towns while bulldozing others in their entirety.

Immigration Reform Now Moves to Center Stage
Nikki Schwab and Paul Bedard

It has been delayed twice and is flying in under the healthcare debate, but the president and a select group of lawmakers are finally talking about immigration reform.

5 Things to Know About the Employee Free Choice Act
Liz Wolgemuth

The heated debate over the merits of the Employee Free Choice Act is particularly poignant for both union leaders and business interests, as it plays out during a recession that has ransacked corporate profits but sharpened the perception of high times that excluded workers in favor of shareholders and executives.

The Pentagon's Wasting Assets
by Andrew F. Krepinevich, Jr.

Several events in recent years have demonstrated that traditional means and methods of projecting power and accessing the global commons are growing increasingly obsolete--becoming "wasting assets," in the language of defense strategists

Safety Board Says D.C. Metro Should Have Replaced Train: Nine people died in the worst crash in the Metro's 33-year history
by Queenie Wong

A federal safety investigator says that the older subway train that slammed into the back of another on Washington's Metro system yesterday, killing nine people and injuring at least 70, should have been replaced years ago because of safety concerns.

10 Pricey Cities That Pay Off: The 'Amenity Value' of 10 cities
by Matthew Bandyk

When you pay a lot of money for something, you hope to get a lot of value in return. So why are people willing to pay a fortune to live in certain places. According to a recent working paper from University of Michigan economist David Albouy, there's a great deal of value to be found in those high prices -- in other words, "amenity value," which measures the amount of satisfaction the asset brings to its owner.

Editorial Cartoon by David Horsey

Waiting for the Payoff:
Debate Continues Over Obama's Recovery Plan
by Justin Ewers

When Obama took office, many economists were skeptical about how the largely untested former senator would handle the array of economic problems before him. While there certainly has been no shortage of quibbling about the specifics of his recovery plans and there continues to be little certainty about what lies in store for the economy

Ray LaHood: 'Transformational' Time for U.S. Transit System
Amanda Ruggeri

Four months into his new position as secretary of transportation, Ray LaHood has a great deal on his plate. Given everything that is going on right now, is this a watershed moment for transportation?

Tax Cuts: Why Obama is Leaving the Reagan Era Behind
by Justin Ewers

As similar as the economic challenges facing Reagan and Obama may sound, the fiscal solutions proposed by the two presidents could not be more different. Obama has gone on a Keynesian spending spree, raising taxes on the highest-income earners and pouring money into energy, healthcare, and a massive stimulus bill. Reagan took the opposite path during his first few months in office, pushing through the biggest tax cuts in history, while massively increasing the defense budget. Politicians have been arguing ever since about which approach works better.

In Defense of Civil Rights:
Justice Department renews fight against discrimination after years of neglect
by Alex Kingsbury

It is a telling reflection of the priorities of the last president that one of the few civil rights cases before the nation's high court this year is a reverse discrimination case.

Facing the Race Factor:
Civil rights leaders want Obama to talk more about racial inequality
by Justin Ewers

It took a remarkably long time before someone finally popped the question. At a press conference in March, two months after he had moved into the White House, Barack Obama was asked for the first time to describe how his race has affected his presidency.

Sonia Sotomayor Confirmation - Supreme Folly
Jules Witcover

Those 31 Republican senators who stretched out on the tracks and let the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor run over them may somehow feel better for the gesture. But the political pain could linger afterward.

Chances are her confirmation in spite of them as the first Hispanic-American on the highest court will be remembered -- with help from the Democrats -- when the nation's largest-growing ethnic bloc troops to the polls next year, and again in 2012.

Saint Sonia the Obscure - Triumph of the Opaque
Paul Greenberg

The Sonia Sotomayor Show before the Senate Judiciary Committee has ended, yet it lingers in the mind -- like a fading hangover. Yet it is still capable of setting off a sudden jab of pain somewhere in the cerebral cortex. Especially when recalling how Her Honor could dive into the murkiest legalese to avoid answering the simplest question.

Sotomayor Hearings Remind Us Republicans Can Be Judicial Activists
Robert Schlesinger

"Judicial activist" typically refers to judges who go beyond ruling according to the existing law by using their decisions to create new laws from the bench, disregarding legal precedents and legislators' intent. Judicial activists, critics complain, discern heretofore unseen rights and governmental powers in the Constitution. It is a long-standing conservative cudgel. However, ...

Moving Beyond Bush's War on Terrorism
Obama Changed Tone, But There is Some Surprising Continuity
by Alex Kingsbury

Perhaps the most dramatic shift when it comes to terrorism is simply that it is not dominating the White House agenda in the same way it did for the past seven years. Intelligence officials warn that al Qaeda remains a persistent national threat, but the terrorist network has been overshadowed in Obama's early months by the global economic crisis, among other challenges.

Editorial Cartoon by David Horsey

Obama's Uphill Battle to Reform Healthcare
by Kent Garber

President Obama stood at a podium flanked by six healthcare leaders and announced what he called "a watershed event in the long and elusive quest for healthcare reform." Obama, by almost any account, had just scored what appeared to be a major concession from several of the country's biggest healthcare players

 

When Healthcare Reform Hits Grandma
by Bernadine Healy M.D.

Obama has laid the groundwork for a massive overhaul of America's healthcare system into a more publicly managed, cost-conscious enterprise that focuses more on wellness than sickness. Driving most government outlays, however, are the many millions of Americans, particularly the elderly, with extremely resource-intensive chronic diseases.

However, what's tried and true, is the government's power to restrict reimbursement and change medical behavior. Medicare, which covers virtually all of the elderly, can say "No" to expensive treatments. That's great if the care is unnecessary. But you can't always tell if you're not at the bedside.

Government-run Healthcare Insurance Program Sure to Backfire
by Phil Gingrey, M.D.

My fear is that creating a government-run health insurance plan wouldn't guarantee quality care by physicians -- in fact, it will not guarantee care at all. The quality of care in a government-run health plan may seem irrelevant to those individuals who are happy with the coverage they currently have -- after all, President Obama promised during his campaign that, "If you like the plan you have, you can keep it." But most individuals don't really have their own health coverage -- they get it from their employers.

Obama Blazing New Trail With His Bold Moves on Economy
by Kenneth T. Walsh

For most Americans, Barack Obama 's most vivid presidential moment came on election night. Since that electric Chicago night back in November, he has pivoted from poetry to prose, playing down charisma and emphasizing competence. And he has moved with impressive speed to focus on the nation's No. 1 problem: the recession and the collapsing financial industry, widely considered the worst economic calamity since the Depression. In the process, Obama is pushing the political pendulum from the conservative approach of Ronald Reagan, who said government was the problem, to a more liberal philosophy that holds that only Washington has the wherewithal to provide the answers.

Don Wright

What Does the Future Hold for GOP?
Future of the Republican Party by Jonah Goldberg

Compare and contrast Jack Kemp, one of the architects of the Reagan Revolution, who passed away last weekend at the age of 73; and Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania senator who switched parties.

Kemp's death should be cause for deep reflection about what the Republican Party is about. Specter's defection is much less significant.

The Jack Kemp I Knew
by Cal Thomas

Many have commented on the life and legacy of Jack Kemp -- the former Buffalo, N.Y., congressman, former vice presidential candidate, former HUD secretary, former professional football star and a friend for life to all those who knew him. Next to Ronald Reagan, Jack Kemp was probably the most optimistic Republican I knew.

We Need a Hero
Future of the GOP & Conservatives by Jonah Goldberg

We conservatives are having one of our grand, knock-down, drag-out fights over the future of conservatism and the GOP. Should conservatives compromise on gay marriage or abortion rights? Should we jump on the environmental bandwagon? Are there ways to reform health care without abandoning our principles? What would Reagan do?

Frankly, I love these arguments. I think they are healthy and good for conservatism and the country. One of the things I love about conservatives is that we have these internal debates more often than the Five Families went to war in "The Godfather."

We Are What We Are
by Garrison Keillor

When I heard former Vice President Cheney talk about the meaning of Republicanism the other day -- "We are what we are," he said -- I felt drawn to the simplicity and dignity of that. And I have never been a Republican, just as I've never been to South America, and that makes it tempting.

A 'Kinder, Gentler' Recession for Seniors
Mark Miller - Retire Smart

Is the Great Recession bypassing seniors? The Pew Research Center poll reports that Americans over age 65 are less likely to have been forced to cut their spending by the downturn than middle-aged people.

 

What's in the Headlines
by Andy Rooney

Look at these headlines. Does everyone know what the editors are talking about

ALSO from andy rooney:

Once Upon a Time in 2002
by Victor Davis Hanson

Opportunism, not principles, guides most in Washington. Consider also the dexterous Obama administration's own about-face. It still finds it useful to damn the old Bush government's embrace of wiretaps, military tribunals and renditions -- even as it dares not drop or completely discount these apparently useful Bush policies, albeit under new names and with new qualifiers.

 

The Complex Case of Complexity
by Alvin and Heidi Toffler

In an important recent speech, months after the current financial crisis began, the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, Ben Bernanke, placed partial blame for the catastrophe on "the sharp increase in the complexity of the financial products offered to consumers." Unfortunately, his description of the problem comes late and underestimates its importance. ...

Why are Bankers Still Being Treated as Beltway Royalty
by Arianna Huffington

Despite all that I know about the reform-killing power unleashed by the nexus of lobbying, campaign cash and legislation, I have been flabbergasted by the amount of behind-the-scenes influence recently being wielded by the banking lobby.

Could America Suffer Lost Economic Decades?
by Paul A. Samuelson

I am a macro-economist and a realist who expects that, despite excellent programs by the Obama teams and the Democratic Congress, the U.S. and global recovery of real GDP growth and high employment will probably follow a slump measured in years rather than months.

Suppose, however, that I am being too optimistic? Maybe the U.S. could have a "lost decade" like Japan's "lost decade."

 

 

President Obama's First 100 Days

Jackson doctor denies manslaughter
Michael Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray, denies a charge of involuntary manslaughter over the singer's death.

Colombia mounts major drugs raids
More than 20 people are arrested in Colombia in what the authorities say is the biggest anti-drug operation in a decade.

Super Bowl breaks ratings record
The New Orleans Saints' win in the Super Bowl is the most-watched programme in US TV history, early figures show.

Chavez declares energy emergency
President Hugo Chavez says emergency measures are needed to help tackle Venezuela's power shortages.

Mexico holds reputed gang leaders
Mexico police arrest two suspected drug gang leaders in the border city of Tijuana.

Canada base boss held for murders
The commander of Canada's largest Air Force base has been charged with the murder of two women, police say.

Pitt and Jolie sue Sunday paper
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt sue a British Sunday newspaper over allegations about their relationship.

Brain injury linked to gambling
Californian scientists think they may have discovered the part of the brain which makes people fear losing money.

'Third-hand smoke' risk warning
Lingering residue from tobacco smoke that clings to upholstery, clothing and the skin releases cancer-causing agents, warn experts.

Critics mock Sarah Palin's 'helping hand'
Critics ridicule Sarah Palin for writing crib notes on her hands for Saturday's high-profile Tea Party speech.

Political analysis and a British perspective on life in the US
Mark Mardell's take on politics and life in the US and North America.

Groundhog Day: Is US politics repeating itself?
Matt Frei, presenter of BBC World News America, says 2010 is starting to bear an uncanny resemblance to 1993.

What turns affluent youngsters into bombers?
Matt Frei, presenter of BBC World News America, asks what motivates affluent youngsters to turn into suicide bombers.

Saints upset Colts in Super Bowl
The New Orleans Saints win their first Super Bowl with a surprise 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Miami.

Super Bowl XLIV as it happened
The New Orleans Saints win their first Super Bowl with an upset 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Miami.

Snow misery continues in US
Fresh snow is forecast to hit the Mid-Atlantic US as some cities remain largely paralysed for a third day by blizzards.

Costa Rica elects female leader
Costa Ricans elect Laura Chinchilla as president, the first woman to occupy the post in the Central American nation.

Water punishment for US child
A US soldier is arrested after allegedly punishing his four-year-old daughter with water for not reciting the alphabet.

New Orleans parties after NFL win
Party season comes early to New Orleans as it celebrates a historic win in the US Super Bowl just before Mardi Gras.

'All accounted for' in US blast
Everyone has been accounted for after an explosion at a US power plant, leaving the death toll at five, officials say.

Shuttle makes final night flight
The US space agency, Nasa, launches its shuttle Endeavour on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

BAE handed £286m criminal fines
Defence group BAE Systems is to pay fines of £280m after pleading guilty to criminal charges in Britain and the US.

Euro MPs shun data deal with US
A committee of Euro MPs moves to block the renewal of a deal allowing US anti-terror officials to access Europeans' bank data.

China to put duties on US chicken
China is to enforce anti-dumping duties on US chicken imports, accusing poultry firms of exporting at unfairly low prices.

Toyota: US readers' comments
Toyota drivers in the US react to the news of recalls

Haiti children find home in Canada
Longed-for adoption happens despite quake

Stand up and be counted?
Why some are reluctant to feature in the US Census

Spend and save
US deficit dilemma and why Obama needs to get it right

El Salvador family reunited
El Salvador's troubled adoption history

Frontline cops
A Mexican widow joins police tackling the drug cartels

Spaceman
America ponders the options for a big rocket

Who's talking?
How a talent show winner scored in Las Vegas

In pictures
The explosion at a power plant in Connecticut

Happy and green
What is behind the success story of Costa Rica?

Anyone for tea?
Sarah Palin and the newest US political movement

BBC News | Americas | World Edition
Get the latest BBC News from the Americas: breaking news, features and analysis plus audio and video content from the United States and the Americas.

 

Toyota Recalls Prius, Hybrids To Fix Brake Problems
Toyota says it is recalling about 437,000 Prius and other hybrid vehicles worldwide to fix brake problems. It's the latest in a string of embarrassing safety lapses at the world's largest automaker.

Skeleton Racer Hopes For Redemption In Vancouver
U.S. skeleton racer Zach Lund is in Vancouver, British Columbia, for Friday's start of the Winter Olympics. Four years ago he was barred from the Olympic games in Italy, after testing positive for a banned, allegedly steroid-masking hair restoration drug. The drug was taken off the banned list in 2008.

Sen. Ben Nelson To Help Thwart Labor Nominee
The Nebraska Democrat says he will join with Republicans to oppose the nomination of Craig Becker to serve on the National Labor Relations Board. Nelson is the first Democrat to come out against the nomination. His decision likely means that Democrats cannot find the 60 votes needed to overcome a GOP filibuster of the nominee.

Rep. Murtha Remembered As Military Advocate
Democratic Congressman John Murtha died Monday at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., after complications from gallbladder surgery. He was 77. Murtha represented southwestern Pennsylvania for 36 years. Most of that time he was the top Democrat on defense appropriations — moving billions of dollars and sending as much as he could to his home district.

Super Bowl Beer Ad Benefits Chicago Business
Miller High Life used its Super Bowl ad-buy this past Sunday to shine a light on some small businesses across the U.S. Tim's Baseball Card Shop on Chicago's North Side was one of them. The response has been overwhelming.

Toyota Squandered Its Reputation For Quality
Toyota has stumbled badly in managing its current recall crisis. The company has been accused of withholding information, changing its story and was less than aggressive in dealing with the various problems. Assuming the company can solve the technology and safety problems, how does Toyota regain public trust?

For Telecommuters, It's Not About Going To Work
Some companies have no traditional office at all — and they like it that way. At one multimillion-dollar company, all 40 employees telecommute. The firm weeds out job applicants who look down on working from home.

Safety Risks At Regional Airlines Detailed By PBS
The crash of Continental Flight 3407 last February — in which 50 deaths were attributed to pilot error — sparked an inquiry that found safety problems. Among them: long hours and low pay at regional carriers, where some pilots become captains with less than a year of experience.

Criminal Probe Is Launched In Conn. Plant Blast
Authorities looking for the cause of an explosion that killed five people at a Middletown power plant under construction launched a criminal investigation, saying they could not rule out criminal negligence as the cause. The powerful explosion blew apart large swaths of the nearly completed 620-megawatt Kleen Energy plant Sunday.

Expectations Low For Obama's Health Care Summit
Critics call the president's plan to hold a summit between Democrats and Republicans on Feb. 25 a purely political gambit designed to give the appearance of momentum for the health bill. Even supporters of the summit see room for common ground with Republicans on only a few narrow issues.

Boeing Engineer Gets 15 Years In Economic Espionage
A Chinese-born engineer convicted in the United States' first economic espionage trial was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for stealing sensitive information on the U.S. space program with the intent of passing it to China.

Digital Tears: Breakups And Social Networks
Separations are hard enough. But then there's the question of what to do when it comes to the social networking ties you share with your former significant other. To break or not to break? It's a question many people are grappling with as they examine their digital personas.

Ill. Democrats Seek Lieutenant Governor Candidate
Democrat Scott Lee Cohen dropped out of the Illinois lieutenant governor race after facing accusations that he had abused his ex-wife and held a knife to the throat of a former girlfriend. The governor, who would have been his running mate, and one of the state's senators had called on Cohen to step aside. The party will try to fix the damage to its statewide ticket.

Texas Nurse On Trial After Reporting Doctor
A nurse in Texas is standing trial for reporting a doctor she thought was practicing bad medicine. Prosecutors have charged 52-year-old Anne Mitchell with making inflammatory statements about a doctor at a rural hospital in Kermit, Texas. She faces up to 10 years in prison. Mitchell says she was just trying to protect her patients. Kevin Sack of The New York Times says much of the case stems from local politics.

After Saints Win, Trash Piles Up
Thousands of ecstatic fans packed New Orleans' French Quarter on Sunday to watch the Saints win their first Super Bowl. One measure of just how happy Saints fans were is the garbage. Calvin Jones, French Quarter Supervisor for SDT Waste and Debris, says it was like a small Mardi Gras.

NPR Topics: U.S.
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