All John Hughes
- My long love affair with Monitor journalismFrom correspondent, to editor, to columnist, I've seen radical changes in journalism and the world.
鈥楽pring鈥� delayed as Cuba follows China's modelPope Benedict XVI鈥檚 call for 'authentic freedom' during his recent visit to Cuba is unlikely to spur democracy. But聽other factors suggest economic changes are under way, patterned after the Chinese example, namely creating a market economy under an authoritarian, communist political system.
Whether Obama or Romney, next US leader faces severe foreign challengesWhoever wins the US presidency 鈥� be it likely GOP nominee Mitt Romney or President Obama 鈥� faces an array of foreign-policy challenges that may be as daunting as those of the cold war.聽For starters, they involve China, Russia, the Arab world, Iran, North Korea, and Pakistan.
Sticks and stones: the case for civility in American political discourseInstead of dogmatism and hysterical clamor, we need more of the 'Shields and Brooks' kind of civility in our public discourse in America.
GOP candidates need to debate legalizing marijuanaAs GOP candidates debate values, I have not heard them address legalizing marijuana. The words of a narcotics agent ring in my ears: 'I can鈥檛 say every pot smoker goes on to get hooked on the hard stuff. But I can say every addict I know on the hard stuff got started on pot.'
Barack Obama: Hope, change, and contradictionBarack Obama is proving to be one of the most puzzling presidents. He bravely took out Osama bin Laden but hasn鈥檛 had the courage to tackle the deficit. And now he's picked a fight with Catholics 鈥� the majority of whom voted for him in 2008.
The great wait of China: How long until freedom?How long can China's communist regime hold in thrall people who have prospered in an economic system that has many of the hallmarks of free enterprise? Despite attempts to censor the Internet, China's huge, new urban population is aware of the outside world and changes in it.
