All Commentary
OpinionTax day: How to remind Americans that paying taxes is a conservative valueTo help create a political climate in which Americans can talk sensibly about taxes, let's start with kids: It鈥檚 time to make The Tax Talk with our kids just as much a part of our culture as The Sex Talk or The Drugs Talk.- A 海角大神 Science PerspectivePrayer: the long and the short of itA 海角大神 Science perspective: Whether our prayers are long or short, the key is heartfelt sincerity and trust.
The Monitor's ViewArtful diplomacy with Syria and IranKofi Annan and Catherine Ashton each relied on delicate diplomacy to bring some fragile hope to two big security issues 鈥� Iran's nuclear program and the civil war in Syria.
OpinionBigger scandal in Latin America than US secret service: US drug hungerThe secret service prostitution scandal overshadows renewed calls at the Summit of the Americas for the US to stanch its drug consumption. A viral 'Drug Violence 2012' video (think 'Kony 2012') would help young Americans聽connect US drug use to violence in Central and South America.
OpinionGregg Williams audio and Saints bounty program test my football faithFootball for me has always been a kind of faith. But now the audio of former New Orleans Saints defensive coach Gregg Williams instructing his team to injure players is testing that faith.聽As a lifelong NFL fan, I need to know that I鈥檓 not financing cruel blood sport.- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveA 'spam filter' for your thinkingA 海角大神 Science perspective.
- Readers RespondReaders Write: Is America's gun culture useful or dangerous?Letters to the Editor for the weekly print edition of April 16, 2012: One reader argues that a recent cover story ('Inside America's gun culture') didn't give聽adequate聽coverage to the use of guns for hunting, competition, and sport. Another worries that 'any聽angry malcontent with a short fuse and a chip on his shoulder, could pull a loaded gun.'
The Monitor's ViewThe Ann Romney flap and women's rolesThe flap over the Hilary Rosen comment about stay-at-home mom Ann Romney only exposes a deeper issue about self-sacrifice 鈥� for both men and women.
OpinionNorth Korea rocket launch: Why Kim failed the testNorth Korea's failed rocket launch symbolizes the inefficacy of Pyongyang's economic and political system and the crash of brief hopes that the new Kim regime might lead to rapprochement with South Korea and the United States.
No crusty journalist complaint here: Caine's Arcade is more than a distracting fadWe sometimes complain that fickle聽Internet fads drive聽our news coverage. But Caine's Arcade made the virtual front pages for all the right reasons. The phenomenon聽provides another example of how the Web 2.0 world informs media coverage 鈥� and better yet 鈥� inspires action.
OpinionIran talks: Why time is ripe for compromisePositive signals from Iran and the United States are encouraging as talks on Tehran's nuclear program get underway, writes a political expert from Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveAn Advocate who's always with youA 海角大神 Science perspective: Paying taxes can be a stressful endeavor. Whether you have professional tax help or not, you have an Advocate.
The Monitor's ViewLift Latin America's 'drug curse'At the Summit of the Americas, Obama will likely be asked to discuss alternatives to the get-tough tactics on the drug trade 鈥� even to endorse legalization. He should point to Latin America's successes in giving economic alternatives to drug trafficking.
The tax man taketh -- and sometimes givethFrom outside, the workings of a big bureaucracy like the IRS seem mysterious and arbitrary. From the inside, it all makes perfect sense. Actually, you could say that about most workplaces.
OpinionThe danger that Saudi Arabia will turn Syria into an Islamist hotbedA tentative UN-brokered ceasefire does not settle Western concerns over Saudi intervention in Syria. While the US and its allies are wary of seeing Syria become a sectarian battleground, the power brokers in Riyadh seem to have been hurtling toward it 鈥� with a form of state-sponsored jihad.
OpinionHey SCOTUS, we already have a federal mandate for health careUS law requires emergency rooms to treat patients regardless of their ability to pay. As a hospital CEO, I assure you, we already have a form of universal health care. We simply fund and supply it in an exorbitantly expensive way. Obamacare's individual mandate provides the solution.- A 海角大神 Science PerspectiveA fresh view of health careA 海角大神 Science perspective.
The Monitor's ViewA tsunami-warning system makes wavesBig lessons can be learned from Wednesday's giant earthquake off Indonesia that led to an Indian Ocean-wide tsunami warning. The new system, set up since the big 2004 disaster, worked.
OpinionPost-parenthood: When adult children move home, is it OK to be friends?Facing a slow economy, three of our children moved back home after college. New unemployment figures show we're not alone. I worried:聽Are these roommates? What are the rules?聽Beyond the questions, something strange and wonderful was taking place. Mirth. And laughter.
Walter RodgersPolitical dynasties (Romney, Bush, Kennedy) betray basic American valuesFamilies like the Kennedys, Bushes, and Romneys will likely ever seek political power 鈥� and the public may well respond with a certain star-struck awe. But hereditary ambition and home-grown royalty run counter to the American Revolution premise 鈥榯hat all men are created equal.
