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January 22, 2004 OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Nation of Second Guesses By BARRY SCHWARTZ PHILADELPHIA — In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Bush elaborated on a theme that is near to his heart: the virtues of personal choice. "Younger workers should have the opportunity to build a nest egg by saving part of their Social Security taxes in a personal retirement account," the president said. "We should make the Social Security system a source of ownership for the American people." Mr. Bush also made clear that "any attempt to limit the choices of our seniors, or to take...

ZENIT - The World Seen From Rome Code: ZE03121222Date: 2003-12-12Talking to Teens About God's Plan for Sex and Their LivesJason and Crystalina Evert Share Testimonies Regarding ChastitySAN DIEGO, California, DEC. 12, 2003 (Zenit.org).- More than 100,000 teens each year hear God's plan for life and love, thanks to the efforts of Jason and Crystalina Evert. The Everts are a newlywed couple and chastity speakers who work for Catholic Answers and visit high schools -- public, Christian and Catholic -- around the country. Jason Evert, author of "If You Really Loved Me" (Catholic Answers), shared with ZENIT how their young...

The United States could be headed for a mighty debate in the 2004 presidential election, and the outcome _ the decision of the American people at the polls _ could write a lot of history. So say a number of observers, and I think they are right. The vote could determine whether we are aggressive or passive in the face of terrorism, and, in my view, that choice in turn could determine whether we remain a robust, thriving land of liberty and opportunity or whether we become something cramped, lashed and sorry. Whether the debate transpires will partly depend on...

A University student has been jailed in Uzbekistan on charges of being gay. His friends and critics, however, say his human rights activities led the Uzbek government to jail him on fake charges in order to silence him. Ruslan Sharipov was an exchange student from Uzbekistan who attended the University during the academic year of 1999-2000. While at the University, he was heavily involved with the International Student Life (ISL) office and created an Asian Central Organization in 2000, said ISL coordinator Leigh Poole. "He was very involved at UGA, and different people who worked at the International Student Life...

It’s Jesus Or Barabbas All Over Again (Clarence Thomas And Bill Clinton) Exclusive commentary by Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Sep 2, 2003 Recently, Bill Clinton delivered the commencement address at Tougaloo College, a small black private school in Mississippi. Our “first black President” joked with the faculty and complained about President Bush supposedly focusing too closely on foreign issues while losing sight of domestic ones. According to reports, every time Clinton took a verbal shot at President Bush he was cheered. The audience whole-heartedly supported Clinton, and there were no reports of protest of his coming to Tougaloo. Bill Clinton:...

SACRAMENTO - Legislative leaders are considering a budget compromise that would delay most of the difficult choices over spending cuts and tax hikes until next July, according to several sources familiar with the draft plan. The idea, which has not been endorsed openly by any of the primary negotiators but has growing support inside and outside the Capitol, would be to use a complicated tax swap to finance the elimination of the state's existing deficit of $10.7 billion. To gain Republican support, Democrats would give up the idea of raising taxes to pay off the deficit bonds. But Democratic leaders...

The stark choices: to run, to surrender or to die fighting By Patrick Bishop on the Kuwait/Iraq border (Filed: 19/03/2003) It looks appallingly vulnerable, perched there on a small rise of rock poking out of the heat haze. Behind the sandbags, the Iraqi soldiers manning the border observation post look down as the desert below fills up with the latest First World weaponry. In a matter of days, maybe hours, they will be faced with three choices. They can run away, surrender, or stay to fight and inevitably die. The Iraqi brigade believed to be positioned some distance behind them...

OMED: A recent topic on the Lars Larson radio talk program (KXL 750 AM in Portland and a multi-state NW network, weekdays) caught our ear. The question was about whether trans-gender people should be protected from job discrimination. Here is our response. If you are a fireman, and develop a heart condition, you lose your job. If you are professional baseball player and lose your arm, you lose your job. If you are a paint salesman and become color blind, you lose your job. If you are a talk show host and lose your ability to speak, you lose your...

Laid off from his job at a computer software company in Philadelphia, Andy Szamody wondered where he would find health coverage. His firm told him it would offer a temporary policy that would cost $212 a month. But "when you're not making any money, that seems like a lot of money," Szamody said. The local unemployment office informed him of other options, but jobless benefits disqualified Szamody for the cheapest, a basic plan that covered doctor visits but not prescriptions for $30 a month. In the end, he opted simply to do without. "I find the whole insurance thing totally...