Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first female prime minister and one of the 20th century’s most prominent political figures, died of a stroke in London on Wednesday. Her death prompted tributes from around the world for the first elected female leader of a major Western country, and reignited debate over the contentious legacy of her unflinchingly conservative policies.... Read more»
Externally, it’s clear enough that Kim Jong Un intends this season’s extreme saber-rattling performance to establish North Korea as a recognized nuclear weapons and long-range missiles power, not to be messed with. Internally, it’s equally clear he wants his subjects to see him not as a 30-year-old kid who’s inheriting power from his dead daddy but as a clever and fearless general able to save them from the machinations of ferocious enemies.... Read more»
The Associated Press has nixed “illegal immigrant” from its stylebook. It now dictates to stop using “illegal” when describing a person. “Instead, it tells users that ‘illegal’ should describe only an action, such as living in or immigrating to a country illegally,” says Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll’s statement explaining the move.... Read more»2
Those accustomed to obtaining health insurance through the workplace and choosing among different types of policies may be in for a rude surprise.... Read more»
Why anyone who cares about tolerance and peace in today’s Middle East should care about the diminishing Christian presence in the land where the faith began.... Read more»
For better or worse, the Vietnam War proved itself to be a learning experience for Americans. In many respects, President George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq was an even greater catastrophe — one that is even less morally and intellectually defensible. And yet, as a nation, we appear to have learned virtually nothing this time around.... Read more»1
On the ancient cobblestones of Jerusalem’s Old City today Christians retraced what tradition holds as the path of Jesus in his final hours of life.... Read more»
For years the conventional wisdom has said that “gun control” is a deeply polarizing and divisive issue and that support for stronger gun laws has been declining. In the wake of the December shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, however, a wealth of new data challenges this conventional wisdom.... Read more»2
Switching to a mayor-led school system can provide a huge boost in student achievement, and cities across the country are experimenting with this new method of district control.... Read more»
Advocacy around immigration reform continues to gain momentum, with bipartisan groups in Congress and President Barack Obama pushing to fix our nation’s immigration system and provide a road map to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in our country.... Read more»
Leave it to San Francisco to advance what’s likely to be one of the most contentious cases facing the Supreme Court in decades, with California’s Proposition 8 heading to the nation’s top court on Tuesday carrying activists’ magic question: are gay marriage bans unconstitutional? Yes or no? (with hearing audio)... Read more»3
There are probably five justices who object to California’s anti-gay Proposition 8 and who would prefer to see it struck down. Justice Kennedy, the conservative viewed as most likely to provide the fifth vote for equality, openly pondered whether Prop 8 violates the Constitution’s ban on gender discrimination. (with full audio)... Read more»
Instead of being a government watchdog and fact checking all the assertions politicians feed them, journalists have become prone to the lapdog tendencies of repeating what those in power say without questioning whether it’s true.... Read more»
The Line: 40 percent of guns are purchased without a background check. The Party: Democratic gun-control advocates. How solid is that figure?... Read more»
How the gun lobby has debilitated federal action on firearms and what President Obama can do about it.... Read more»
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