So, if you have insurance you like, you keep that insurance. If you have a doctor you like, you keep that doctor. The only thing that changes for you is that your costs will go down.

––Senator Barack Obama, presidential campaign speech, Asheville, North Carolina, October 5, 2008

Details kill. If we get too far into the weeds, if we produce a 1,500– or 1,600– page bill, we're going to get hung up on all the details and we're never going to get to the principles.

––Senator Tom Daschle, Secretary of Health and Human Services Designate, Colorado Health Care Summit, Denver, December 5, 2008

When it comes to the deadly details, millions of Americans could be in for an unpleasant surprise. During the election campaign, President–elect Barack Obama promised––repeatedly––that Americans who already had health insurance would not face any changes in their coverage and that their costs would go down, saving the typical family $2,500 annually in premiums.[1]

The latest issue of The Journal of Communication and Religion (November 2008, Volume 31, Number 2) contains an excellent analysis of the importance of opposite–sex parent relationships. The common sense conclusion is backed up with social science data and affirmed by a peer–reviewed scholarly article: girls need a dad, and boys need a mom.

Not surprisingly, the study also found that communication is an essential building block for all family relationships — family interactions are the crucible for attitudes, values, priorities, and worldviews. Beyond the shaping and modeling of these essential personal characteristics, the family shapes an individual’s interpersonal system and self–identity.

As consumer demand continues to fall, a fiscal stimulus is warranted. The most effective stimulus, however, would be a tax cut, rather than an increase in infrastructure spending.

When it comes to fighting recessions, there's a tendency to see "fiscal stimulus" packages as wasteful, as a form of "throwing money at the problem." The critics have a point. But the conclusion that therefore we should do nothing is also wrong. Instead, careful attention should be paid to the details. Just as a family pinched for cash might find borrowing for the purchase of a new car or appliance prudent while taking a vacation in Las Vegas wouldn't be, some government programs to combat recession make sense while others do not.

Three criteria are crucial for evaluating fiscal stimulus packages. First, does the program target the weakness in the economy that caused the recession, or is it largely peripheral? Second, are the funds going to be spent in a timely fashion? Third, does the program fundamentally strengthen the economy going forward into the expansion phase? A look at the economy's current circumstances suggests that a large fiscal stimulus is needed, but a badly designed one will, in the words of an old song, merely leave America "another day older and deeper in debt."

Civil libertarians, including prominent conservatives like Rep. Ron Paul and former Rep. Bob Barr, have made loud objections to the U.S. government’s efforts to counteract terrorism in the wake of 9–11. In particular, they have protested the detainment and interrogation methods used on suspected terrorists at Gitmo, wiretapping, and other methods of surveillance. They don’t represent the majority of Americans, many who privately say anyone involved with terrorism should be executed. They don’t dare say this publicly since the law has evolved over time to provide those accused of crimes certain privileges, labeling them “rights.” While some of these “rights” make sense in order to prevent the government from falsely imprisoning innocent people, at some point there is a line where these specified additional “rights” for suspected terrorists begin to infringe upon the rights of innocent Americans.

Congress has recently considered taxing the "carried interest" of private equity fund managers as ordinary income rather than at the 15 percent rate that currently applies to a portion of this income. The case for such proposals is less compelling than initial appearances suggest. The proper treatment of carried interest depends upon a number of unresolved economic issues.

The Canadian Senate is unelected; its members are appointed by the party in power. The ruling Conservative Party's commitment to Senate reform has been stymied by provinces and in parliament, leaving Prime Minister Stephen Harper to begin filling seats on his own. Even so, it is improper for senators to assume an active legislative role as long as it is filled with apolitical celebrities and partisan hacks. The Canadian Senate's members should compete for a popular mandate in order to govern.

For two years, Stephen Harper pressed the provinces to hold elections so that he could appoint democratically selected senators. They ignored him.

For two years, Harper minimized prime ministerial powers of patronage in the Senate. Again: Nobody responded.

Harper's principles exposed him to political danger. The partisan balance in the Senate has deteriorated to the point where the Liberals outnumber Conservatives by a margin of nearly 3–to–1 (58 to 20).

Selling contaminated baby formula is a heinous enough crime to shock a nation, but China's leaders know they have a dangerously destabilizing political crisis on their hands.

The scandal goes to the heart of a covenant between any authoritarian regime and those who surrender freedom. They cede power with the belief, however wishful, they will be better off. Those in power promise to protect them from all manner of hazards, foreign and domestic.

The unraveling of China's milk scandal has horrified the country. Last week, the chairwoman of a diary company pleaded guilty to producing and selling fake or substandard products. Milk products contaminated with an additive that produces kidney stones has killed six babies and sickened another 300,000.

If you're like me, you sometimes find yourself speechless when confronted with abject insanity.

If you're like me, for instance, you were dumbfounded when "Forrest Gump" beat out "Pulp Fiction" for best picture; when HBO's "Sopranos" received more accolades than "The Wire"; and when George W. Bush insisted Iraqi airplanes were about to drop WMD on American cities.

So if you're like me, you probably understand why I was momentarily tongue–tied recently after running face–first into conservatives' newest (and most ridiculous) talking point — the one designed to stop Congress from passing an economic–stimulus package.

During a Christmas Eve appearance on Fox News, I pointed out that most mainstream economists believe the government must boost the economy with deficit spending. That's when conservative pundit Monica Crowley said we should instead limit such spending because President Franklin Roosevelt's "massive government intervention actually prolonged the Great Depression." Fox News anchor Gregg Jarrett eagerly concurred, saying "historians pretty much agree on that."

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Western men who visit red–light districts in poor countries often find themselves surrounded by coquettish teenage girls laughingly tugging them toward the brothels. The men assume that the girls are there voluntarily, and in some cases they are right.

But anyone inclined to take the girls' smiles at face value should talk to Sina Vann, who was once one of those smiling girls.

Sina is Vietnamese but was kidnapped at the age of 13 and taken to Cambodia, where she was drugged. She said she woke up naked and bloody on a bed with a white man — she doesn't know his nationality — who had purchased her virginity.

After that, she was locked on the upper floors of a nice hotel and offered to Western men and wealthy Cambodians. She said she was beaten ferociously to force her to smile and act seductive.

No, 2008 wasn't just a bad year. It was an awful year. A Johnstown Flood kind of year. The kind that wipes out proud, century–old institutions, decimates entire industries, and leaves everyone decidedly poorer and the world profoundly shaken in its wake.

Enough of that. On to 2009.

I have no crystal ball. But a sense of history, some basic economics, common sense and just a dash of congenital optimism leave me convinced that this one won't be all bad.

Oh, sure, there will be layoffs like we haven't seen since the Great Depression. And you can expect to see a proliferation of empty storefronts and a heap of broken businesses.

But why focus on the negative? Here are five good reasons why 2009 could, if you make the most of it, be good for your financial health.

The Department of Homeland Security in Action

A Thai friend with whom I have traveled in Europe and Asia took time off from her job to meet me in Florida over the holidays. This was a good time for me, as it was between reporting stints in the war. My friend, Aew, had volunteered to work with me in Afghanistan or Iraq, but I declined because many people around me get shot or blown up. So we were looking forward to spending some vacation time together. She comes from a good family; and one that is wealthier than most American families. She didn’t come here for a job. Well–educated, she has a master's degree and works as a bank officer in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Aew was excited about the prospect of visiting America for the first time, though she had traveled to many other countries and had the passport stamps to prove it. She had no problem getting a U.S. visa, and she was paying her own way to fly.

The last time I checked, we had a Constitution that governed the election and appointment of Senators. America’s governors should demand that Harry Reid comply with it. When it comes to Governor Rod Blagojevich’s appointment of Roland Burris to the Senate, the Constitution requires Reid to comply with that decision and seat Burris. Frankly, anything short of honoring Illinois’s decision should create a constitutional crisis. The only entities that may be able stop Blagojevich are in Illinois.

1) Arab–Israeli warfare is not the conventional battle to control territory of old. Since 1982, the primary goal in this theater is to persuade the world of the righteousness of one's cause. (I.e., who has the more affecting casualties?)

2) Palestinians have proven themselves more competent at the p.r. battle than the Israeli government, winning public support everywhere — with the lone but decisive exceptions of Israel and the United States.

3) Secondarily, Hamas's defiance should be seen in light of Iranian ambitions to wear down the Israeli body politic.

As we start the new year, it might be wise to center ourselves on a perspective that has provided comfort and direction for millions of people since written in 1942—“The Serenity Prayer.”

Though at times attributed to others, used in many variants and never formally copyrighted, most attribute the prayer to Reinhold Niebuhr. Niebuhr was a protestant theologian best known for his work in relating the Christian faith to the reality of modern politics and diplomacy.

Commenting, let me use in three parts the full version that Niebuhr's widow has reported he himself preferred:

“God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.”

Only Congress could set up a system that gives it a raise for doing nothing. We will pause while the gnashing of teeth subsides.

Yes, representatives and senators are guaranteed annual cost of living increases. Under this system, which allows them to not put their fingerprints on a bill giving themselves a raise, they get an increase unless they specifically vote to reject it. Needless to say, that doesn't happen often. The only time since 1999 that Congress turned down a raise was in 2007, when Democrats had just won the majority and blocked the increase until Congress raised the minimum wage.

We think it's a fine time for Congress to act again.

This year's 2.8 percent increase in base pay sounds modest enough, until you consider that it will boost salaries by $4,700 to a not–at–all–shabby $174,000 a year.

The word "depression" is popping up more often than at any time in the past 60 years, but what exactly does it mean? The popular rule of thumb for a recession is two consecutive quarters of falling GDP.

America's National Bureau of Economic Research has officially declared a recession based on a more rigorous analysis of a range of economic indicators. But there is no widely accepted definition of depression. So how severe does this current slump have to get before it warrants the "D" word?

A search on the Internet suggests two principal criteria for distinguishing a depression from a recession: a decline in real GDP that exceeds 10 percent, or one that lasts more than three years. America's Great Depression qualifies on both counts, with GDP falling by around 30 percent between 1929 and 1933. Output also fell by 13 percent during 1937 and 1938.

In describing the role he will play as vice president, Joe Biden told interviewers that he wanted to be "counselor in chief." A look at how Americans view vice presidents in general and Dick Cheney and Joe Biden in particular.

Joe Biden stepped into the spotlight last week with an interview about his views of the vice presidency, telling ABC's George Stephanopoulos that the role exists to give advice and recommendations to the president. And Dick Cheney, after four decades of public service, offered some thoughts of his own about the office––the more expansive role he assumed, meeting weekly with Republican senators––to Fox's Chris Wallace as he prepares to leave his post.

What do ordinary Americans have to say about the post?

In order to counter the deep recession that the U.S. economy now faces, government spending will have to grow. One way to stimulate the economy is to temporarily increase spending on defense and intelligence.

The Department of Defense is preparing budget cuts in response to the decline in national income. The DOD budgeteers and their counterparts in the White House Office of Management and Budget apparently reason that a smaller GDP requires belt–tightening by everyone.

That logic is exactly backwards. As President–elect Barack Obama and his economic advisers recognize, countering a deep economic recession requires an increase in government spending to offset the sharp decline in consumer outlays and business investment that is now under way. Without that rise in government spending, the economic downturn would be deeper and longer. Although tax cuts for individuals and businesses can help, government spending will have to do the heavy lifting. That's why the Obama team will propose a package of about $300 billion a year in additional federal government outlays and grants to states and local governments.

Snow and ice cause an increase in car crashes. Car tires have little or no traction on these surfaces. We learn these basic facts in Driver's Ed 101. However, officials in Seattle, Wash. disregard these physics laws concerning automobiles on snow and ice. They have implemented policies which aggravate dangerous road conditions and are leading to an increase in accidents and injuries.

They claim to act out of their concern for the environment. Hmmm. On the one hand, you have human death, bodily injury and suffering, money lost due to vehicular damage and time lost from work and school –– versus the environment. What seems like a no–brainer to most Americans, and defies common sense, is the city's refusal to use salt and other proven means of clearing streets of dangerous snow and ice. "If we were using salt, you'd see patches of bare road because salt is very effective," said Alex Wiggins of the Seattle Department of Transportation. "We decided not to utilize salt because it's not a healthy addition to Puget Sound."

The land for peace concept is in jeopardy, write Aron Heller and Matti Friedman for the Associated Press:

Israeli hard–liners have warned for many years that any territory Israel vacates will be used to attack it. Now they can point to the Hamas missile that slammed into a bus stop in this port city Monday, killing a 39–year–old woman. It was fired from the Gaza Strip, which Israel gave up in 2005 and is now ruled by Hamas militants who reject the existence of the Jewish state. … Israelis who never thought they would be living under rocket fire prepared bomb shelters. Newspapers and TV stations displayed color–coded maps informing Israelis that they had 15, 30 or 45 seconds to reach cover after a warning siren goes off. In Ashdod malls, directions to the nearest shelters were posted.

It's called learning the hard way. After all, the same lesson was evident in 2006, when Hizbullah took advantage of the IDF's 2000 retreat from its Lebanese cordon sanitaire to snuggle right up to the border and shoot off missiles. As the Hamas rockets improve, an ever–larger portion of Israel's population comes under fire, now estimated between 700,000 and a million persons, with the number steadily growing. It's only a matter of time until the rockets reach Tel Aviv, the country's largest city, and Dimona, the site of its nuclear plant.

In high school, pretty girls and even those who are only so–so in the looks department will sometimes surround themselves with unattractive acolytes because they wind up looking so much better by comparison.

Such things don’t always occur by choice, but through circumstances. For instance, consider Laurel and Hardy who were teamed up by the legendary Hal Roach. Because Oliver Hardy was so heavy, he was called the Fat one, and Stan Laurel, who wasn’t all that thin, was therefore referred to as the Skinny One.

The reason that relativity is on my mind is because in the past few years, we have seen any number of rather obnoxious individuals called to our nation’s capitol so that members of the House and Senate could grill them in front of the TV cameras.

In recent years, Campus Watch (CW) analysts have leveled a barrage of criticism against the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) as a bastion of groupthink for scholar–activists peddling a politicized agenda. CW's current director, Winfield Myers, noted that its "reputation has been shattered by years of politicized scholarship, one–sided teaching, and bullying students." Jonathan Calt Harris, formerly with CW, called the organization a "hive of academic opposition to America, Israel, and, in the larger sense, rationalism itself." After years of responding to such criticism with cries of "McCarthyism," MESA just might be owning up to a few of its failures.

The 2008 MESA conference, held in Washington, DC in November, consisted of 12 sessions over four days with more than 1,500 scholars and professionals in attendance.

In recent years, even after the 9/11 attacks, MESA has failed to offer useful information on the Middle East and Islam and almost completely ignored American national security issues. Not surprisingly, critics charged that MESA was increasingly irrelevant.

Given the minuscule vote margin between incumbent Senator Norm Coleman and challenger Al Franken and the potential for political impropriety in the recount process, a good solution would be the appointment of a bipartisan panel to oversee the recount in Minnesota and ensure a fair result.

The Minnesota Senate race between Democratic comedian Al Franken and Republican incumbent Norm Coleman has turned toward Franken.

Move aside, Motown. Make way, WaMu. There's a new mendicant bellying up to the bailout bar: America's charities.

Many of the private organizations established to meet pressing social needs and serve others now clamor for government aid. Those who once saw themselves primarily as servants now see themselves as pitiable victims.

"What about those of us in the nonprofit world? Where's our bailout?" wails nonprofit executive Teresa DeCrescenzo in a Dec. 1 column in the Los Angeles Times.

Now that Americans have participated in an election that was pure political entertainment, how will they separate Barack Obama’s perceived political coolness from the objectivity needed to evaluate leadership?

And just how will American media cover a president who is beginning to treat them more like paparazzi than reporters?

Just ask any of the pool reporters covering the Obama family holiday in Hawaii if they feel they are reporting news –– or participating in a controlled stalking exercise.

The typical bachelor's degree is of little use as a job qualification. We should undermine the B.A. in favor of professional certification, which ties education directly to employable skills. Doing so would save students the hassle––and expense––of a degree that they neither need nor want, and it would help restore the liberal arts and sciences as the core of university–level education.

Barack Obama has two attractive ideas for improving post–secondary education––expanding the use of community colleges and tuition tax credits––but he needs to hitch them to a broader platform. As president, Mr. Obama should use his bully pulpit to undermine the bachelor's degree as a job qualification. Here's a suggested battle cry, to be repeated in every speech on the subject: "It's what you can do that should count when you apply for a job, not where you learned to do it."

In discussions over how best to implement mandatory restrictions on carbon, the most commonly discussed option is a cap–and–trade system. One critical economic question surrounding cap–and–trade is how to distribute the permits. The two main competing mechanisms are free allocations to polluters (usually based on past emissions levels, output levels, or carbon intensity) and the auction of permits.

I live in the oh–so–sassy city of Miami, Florida, and when I tell people down here that I am a hunter they give me that look a woman gives when she plops down on the toilet when the seat’s up. Y’know what I’m talking about, don’t ‘cha?

They screech, “You hunt? Oh my Gawd!” (Usually followed by putting one hand over their mouth and one hand on their hip, followed by putting both hands on their hips and then to their final resting place in the disapproving arm cross. At least that’s what the guys do).

Last August I wrote a column critical of Rick Warren's decision to host a presidential candidate forum at his Saddleback Church.

My reasoning then was that America's crisis is moral ambiguity. I argued that Pastor Warren would only contribute to this ambiguity by hosting candidates with opposing views on issues such as abortion and homosexuality and presenting himself as a neutral moderator.

Only Barack Obama would gain, I felt, being showcased as an acceptable candidate by one of the nation's best known evangelical pastors. If John McCain had wanted to clarify his social conservative credentials, he didn't need to go to Rick Warren's church with Barack Obama to do it.

WARNING: Spoilers Included

As far as bizarre, borderline–surreal political theater goes, this critic gives two enthusiastic thumbs–up to last week's hilarious press conference starring disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, his appointment to the US Senate, Roland Burris, and various supporting characters. Set in Chicago, this "dramedy" was a smash hit with most audiences, despite testing poorly with some Congressional leaders and the quasi–fictional "Office of the President Elect."

Blagojevich appeared to relish his role in this masterpiece, appearing to delight in jarring this wacky train right off the predictable tracks of a standard political announcement. His opening salvo featured an unexpected appeal to certain targeted demographic audiences in which he extended holiday wishes in both English and Spanish. A "Feliz Navidad" in the first ten seconds? Pure gold

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5 percent to 20 percent of the U.S. population gets the flu each year. Of that, about 200,000 people require hospitalization and 36,000 ultimately die. But imagine if, in addition to colds and flus, American health providers were confronted with widespread outbreaks of malaria or other diseases that could spread due to global warming.

If this sounds like a scenario from a Hollywood thriller, think again.

According to a growing body of research, the threat of global warming bringing new diseases to America's shores is one that U.S. policy–makers need to take seriously. As the world warms, diseases are spreading farther, heat waves are lasting longer and air quality is declining. In 2005, the World Health Organization stated that the effects of climate change might have caused more than 150,000 deaths in the year 2000. A report released last month at a conference of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene warned that changing climates, combined with international air travel, could help spread malaria to areas in the United States and Europe that have historically remained untouched.