Baltimore Sun

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have left little room for news coverage or informed discussion of what is going on in the rest of the world and how it relates to U.S. security interests. This goes double for Africa, which was largely ignored in policymaking circles even before Iraq and 9/11 began to dominate the foreign policy agenda.

Thus, few Americans are likely aware that the U.S. relationship with Africa has become increasingly militarized. In the long run, such… more

In a few days, Congress will return to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP. The program will pay for expanded coverage for children through an increase in cigarette taxes. The logic is to raise revenue while discouraging a behavior harmful to child health. Instead of a cigarette tax, however, Congress should address the health problem that research indicates is the greatest crisis facing America’s young people by taxing junk food instead.

The new epidemic facing American children… more

Before he could begin to lead the fifth-largest school district in Maryland, Eric J. Smith was told he needed to make time to speak with one Severna Park family: the Sniders.Smith sat across the dining table from Terra Ziporyn and Jim H. Snider, parents of three school-age children, and got an earful about the value of the arts and the need for new algebra textbooks and greater transparency in the district's decision making."They cared… more

What if the wrong candidate wins France’s presidential election? If the wrong candidate were to win because of electoral fraud -- stuffing of ballot boxes or rigging of votes -- all of France would be up in arms, and the international media would shine a glaring spotlight.

But a different specter hangs over French voters today: that the wrong candidate will win because of an antiquated method for electing their president. The current method, a first-round free-for-all… more

A top financial aid administrator at the Johns Hopkins University was put on paid leave yesterday while the university investigates her ties to a student loan company that is at the center of a national probe by New York's attorney general, Hopkins officials said.University officials were informed yesterday by the lender's parent company that Ellen Frishberg, director of student financial services, received about $65,000 in consulting fees since 2002 from Student Loan Xpress. The loan company is one… more

WASHINGTON -- Most Americans who have health insurance get it through their employers, in part because employers can take a tax deduction for premiums but most individuals can't.In proposing to change that system last night, President Bush drew support from free-market thinkers who believe the link between employment and health coverage encourages people to buy more expensive coverage than they need, since employers pick up most of the tab.Some analysts and advocacy groups, however, predicted… more

WASHINGTON -- It's not often that we look to the dastardly IRS to come to our rescue. But the IRS recently announced the advent of a new tool that just might help avert a growing crisis - the disappearance of savings in the American economy.

Beginning next year, taxpayers will be allowed to use direct deposit to divide their tax refunds among several accounts rather than receiving them in a lump sum. This will allow funds to go directly into savings,… more

WASHINGTON -- Attacking real or imagined health care villains, though sometimes necessary and always fun, will not make health care more affordable today or tomorrow unless we also face hard facts and reform our system. It is broken and our leaders know it, but courage to talk about real solutions is scarce, so most stick to diversionary tactics.

The ultraliberals' diversion is to blame capitalism and greed, to pretend that employers could just pay more while insurers… more

"Remember Max Cleland" are three words that should haunt Democrats who want to oppose President Bush's new school voucher plan for children displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Mr. Cleland, a triple amputee from his service in the Vietnam War, was Georgia's junior U.S. senator until defeated for re-election in 2002 amid charges of weakness on national security.

Those charges stemmed from his opposition to Mr. Bush's response to 9/11: creation of a Department of Homeland Security free from civil service union… more

Turn on your TV these days and you're bound to see images of Iraqi youths dancing atop burned out Humvees or of Mexican youths slipping across border fences. We see Liberian child soldiers brandishing rifles and Palestinian kids throwing stones. No wonder so many Americans form the impression that Third World population growth is a major threat to global stability.

Yet these images only capture the surface of life and miss a deeper demographic reality. Nearly everyone knows that the… more