Opinion Forum

The Miracle of Life

May 14th, 2009

As I’ve said before, I support freedom of choice on abortion, within the framework specified in Roe v. Wade. I take that position primarily because it seems to be the most reasonable approach to a problem fraught with moral and legal complexity. Now and then there are cases that truly tug at your heartstrings regardless [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: abortion, Samuel Armas
Categories: Life, News | Comments (11) | Home

Hallelujah! Obama Did Something Right!

May 13th, 2009

The National Day of Prayer, started by President Truman, was in my opinion a bad idea then because it suggested that the government and the president himself needed Divine intervention if this country was to survive. That’s a pretty sad statement for a president to make — a leader of a nation needs to have both feet [...]

Articles written by Harvey Grund
Tags: National Day of Prayer, Obama, religion
Categories: Life, Politics | Comments (10) | Home

Cats vs. Dogs

May 12th, 2009

I am an animal lover, and I have had dogs and cats before. The majority of people own some kind of pet, and the two most common pets are cats and dogs. Both dogs and cats are family-oriented, but people disagree about which one is more for families. Cats and dogs were made to be the pets [...]

Articles written by Amber
Tags: cats, dogs, pets
Categories: Life | Comments (19) | Home

The Politics of Torture

May 12th, 2009

This issue of “torture” has become so political that it’s virtually impossible to have a rational discussion. As with so many other issues in today’s highly-charged partisan environment, most of those on the left are against it, and most of those on the right are for it. What utter nonsense. Despite the glib, throw-away pronouncements of those who don’t [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: McCain, Obama, terrorism, torture
Categories: Military, Politics | Comments (14) | Home

Is Elizabeth Edwards a Victim?

May 11th, 2009

Elizabeth Edwards has been ubiquitous on TV and in the press of late. She’s the wife of John Edwards, one-term senator, vice-presidential candidate in 2004, presidential primary candidate in 2004 and 2008, and wealthy trial lawyer. Mrs. Edwards suffers from terminal cancer. This was very publicly announced in a joint appearance with her husband during his latest campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Her recent visibility is [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: Elizabeth Edwards, John Edwards, Rielle Hunter
Categories: News, Politics | Comments (3) | Home

Home for Veterans

May 9th, 2009

Coming home for some war veterans means slipping off the track of chasing a fading American dream. Despite the yellow ribbons of support for the troops festooning patriotic front yards and backs of cars, there’s an army of homeless former soldiers seeking shelter in cities and towns across this country. Compounding the shock of becoming [...]

Articles written by Jan Barry
Tags: homeless, PTSD, veterans
Categories: Military, Politics | Comments (5) | Home

Diversity on the Supreme Court

May 8th, 2009

I noted earlier in A New Supreme Court Justice that diversity is the primary consideration among Democrats for a nominee to replace Associate Justice David H. Souter on the Supreme Court. President Obama is searching for the best legal mind in the country, of course, as long as the possessor of that mind is empathetic, sensitive to the needs of [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: diversity, Law, Supreme Court
Categories: News, Politics | Comments (4) | Home

Peacemaking Adventures Abroad

May 6th, 2009

There are two very different sorts of Americans who venture abroad, as more than tourists or journalists, to so-called trouble spots. There are military people and “gold-mining” adventurers. And there are diplomats and teachers. In Vietnam, for instance, the US sent waves upon waves of troops and contractors to wage war for more than a [...]

Articles written by Jan Barry
Tags: teaching abroad, Vietnam
Categories: Arts, Life | Comments (10) | Home

From RINO to DINO

May 6th, 2009

Senator Arlen Specter switched from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party, as we’ve all heard by now. He said he was doing it because he finds himself more aligned with the Democrats and the Republicans have become too conservative, yada yada yada. Horse puckey. As we all know, he did it because he would most likely [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: Arlen Specter
Categories: News, Politics | Comments (8) | Home

Banned from Britain

May 5th, 2009

According to an AP report in The Washington Post, the British government has published a list of people banned from entering Britain. Prominent on that list is American talk-radio host Michael Savage. The Independent reported the names of all 16 people on the British list. It includes extremists of both left and right. The UK has the [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: Britain, British, UK
Categories: News, Politics | Comments (19) | Home

An Old Book’s Lessons

May 3rd, 2009

For decades, through multiple moves and clearings out of dusty bookshelves, I’ve dragged around a book by John Kenneth Galbraith. The sole reason for keeping this timeworn tome is that Galbraith signed it and, with a hearty flourish, handed it to me when we both appeared on a national TV talk program in 1971. Yet, [...]

Articles written by Jan Barry
Tags: Galbraith, Iraq, Vietnam
Categories: Economics, History, Politics | Comments (1) | Home

Ukrainian “Hot N Cold”

May 3rd, 2009

By Andrea The Ukrainian band “Los Colorados” recently appeared on the Ellen Degeneres show in the U.S., performing their version of Katy Perry’s “Hot N Cold.” This video of them playing and singing “Hot N Cold” is hilarious. You can’t listen just once, and you can’t get it out of your head!

Articles written by Guest Author
Tags: Katy Perry, Los Colorados
Categories: Arts, Humor | Comments (1) | Home

Writers at Work

May 2nd, 2009

Writing is an essential nourishment for writers. “I felt so much better doing that,” an Iraq war vet turned poet and playwright said, exhaling as though he’d just pumped oxygen into his muscles by jogging around the block, after jotting down some thoughts during a writers’ workshop the other day. Earlier, one of the participants [...]

Articles written by Jan Barry
Tags: Iraq, literature, war
Categories: Arts, Life, Military | Comments (1) | Home

A New Supreme Court Justice

May 1st, 2009

With the retirement of Supreme Court Associate Justice David H. Souter at the end of this Court term, President Obama has his first opportunity to nominate a new Associate Justice. As reported in The Washington Post, President Obama said …he would nominate a replacement who both respects the Constitution and brings “empathy” and “understanding” to [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: Law, Obama, Souter, Supreme Court
Categories: News, Politics | Comments (5) | Home