The Real Meaning of Mother's Day
Remember when Mother's Day was a simple affair? The kids woke Mom up with breakfast in bed -- Froot Loops floating on a sea of slightly pink milk -- and handmade cards. Everyone was especially nice to one another so Mom could enjoy some "peace and quiet," commodities in short supply in most mothers' lives. Maybe Dad cooked dinner or everyone went out to a restaurant, the kind with endless supplies of soft, warm rolls that filled everybody up before the overcooked roast beef soaked in brown gravy arrived. All mothers were "Queen for a Day" in those less-harried times.

Obama: Too Little, Too Late
You could see the pain, anger and frustration in Sen. Barack Obama's face this week as, once again, he had to answer questions about his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. What you didn't see or hear from Obama was recognition that he could have prevented Wright from becoming an issue in the first place. But by the time Wright took to the podium at the National Press Club Monday to re-issue his hateful comments about the United States, Obama had already missed his chance. In fact, there were at least three specific occasions on which Obama made the wrong choice.

Obama's Hurdle
Despite Hillary Clinton's impressive win in Pennsylvania Tuesday, there is virtually no scenario in which Clinton can win the Democratic nomination. Barack Obama is the almost-certain choice to become the Party's nominee -- but he will face far more hurdles on his path to the presidency than he has overcome in Democratic primaries.

All God's Children
The Catholic Church in America has always been an immigrant church. No wonder that Pope Benedict XVI has given special attention in his first visit to the United States to the issue of immigrants.

Democrats Trade Hypocrisy
Democrats' hypocrisy knows no bounds when it comes to free trade. The latest example of duplicity comes from the Clinton campaign, which was forced to announce on Sunday that chief strategist Mark Penn would be stepping down from his official post. It seems Penn had been doing a little moonlighting on behalf of the government of Colombia in its efforts to win a free-trade agreement with the U.S. -- something Hillary Clinton vigorously opposes.

A Better Solution for the Housing Mess
With the housing mess threatening to send the economy into a tailspin, politicians are scrambling to come up with a quick fix. Senate leaders this week announced they've come up with a housing bailout bill, including a $4 billion grant to local governments to buy foreclosed homes, authority for states to issue bonds for refinancing sub-prime mortgages, and a $7,000 tax credit for those buying new homes or existing houses in foreclosure. The bipartisan compromise package will cost taxpayers plenty but does little to alleviate the real problem. That's because politicians are scared to death to put the blame where it belongs.

A Government Engineered Food Crisis
As if a housing crisis, rising energy costs and a soft labor market weren't enough to cause economic anxiety for the average American, now consumers are feeling the pinch of rapidly escalating food costs. The United States has long prided itself in being the breadbasket of the world, and Americans have traditionally paid a smaller share of their income on food than citizens of other developed countries. But the days of cheap milk, bread, beef and poultry may well be over -- and Uncle Sam is partly to blame.

Obama Won't Confront Biggest Problem for Blacks
I expected more from Barack Obama. Like many Americans, I had hoped that his candidacy might transcend the racial divide that has separated this country for too many generations. I disagree with Sen. Obama on virtually every important public policy issue, and yet I have watched every televised speech he's made and every debate with a sense of admiration. I want him to succeed in his party's nomination battle, even when I fear, as a staunch Republican, that he might be the more difficult candidate to defeat in November. But he has profoundly disappointed me this week in his major address on race.

Iraq War Could Help GOP Win in November
A funny thing happened on the way to the election: Many Americans had a change of heart about the war in Iraq. No, I'm not talking about the large numbers of Americans who now think that the United States should never have gone to war in the first place, or those who want the troops brought home immediately. To the contrary, two recent Pew Research Center polls show that Americans are more upbeat in their assessment of the Iraq War than at any time in the last couple of years and less focused on American casualties there. Responses to a number of the surveys' questions suggest problems ahead for the Democrats, no matter which candidate the party nominates.

Crime and Punishment on the Streets of Baltimore
Sunday night, I'll be in front of my television set saying goodbye to some improbable friends: a few drug dealers, some good cops and bad, a corrupt politician or two and a handful of boys who broke my heart. HBO's "The Wire" comes to an end this week after 60 episodes over five seasons.

William F. Buckley, RIP
Conservatism lost one of its most influential voices this week. William F. Buckley Jr. -- author, editor, television host, and one of America's most important public intellectuals -- died in his home Wednesday at 82. Buckley shaped the modern conservative movement into a force in American politics, and he so did with equal measure of charm and intellectual rigor.

Liberal Patriotism
Michelle Obama struck a raw nerve earlier this week when she suggested she had never been proud of her country until now. "For the first time in my adult lifetime," the 44-year-old wife of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama told a Milwaukee crowd, "I'm really proud of my country."

Time to Unite
The bitter squabbling on the right over the presidential nomination has now entered a dangerous phase. Politics is about winning elections, not winning prizes for ideological purity. Do the conservatives who consider John McCain an apostate really believe their cause will be better served by having Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama in the White House? Because their truculence at the point when Republicans should be uniting is almost guaranteed to produce that result.

The Ghost of Ronald Reagan
The ghost of Ronald Reagan hung heavily over the Republican presidential candidates as they faced off in their suddenly narrowed field Wednesday at the Reagan Library. Surely every Republican old enough to remember the revered president couldn't help but compare those sitting beneath the wing of Reagan's Air Force One with the man who once rode in it.

Our Better Angels: Martin Luther King's Legacy
The nasty bickering on the subject of race between Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama got me thinking about the true legacy of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. We honor him with a national holiday, but do we really understand what he meant to this country? The question is not, as Clinton seemed to frame it, whether King's speeches and civil disobedience were less important to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 than President Lyndon Johnson's legislative push and final signature on the bill.

Dumbing Down Higher Education
Come November, voters in several states will not only be picking the next president but deciding whether they want to end a system of racial preferences in public higher education and government hiring and contracting. In 2006, voters in Michigan struck down racial preferences, as did Californians and Washingtonians a decade earlier, and as many as five states will have that opportunity this year if proposed initiatives in those states qualify for the ballot. But a new move is afoot to try to circumvent the intent of those initiatives in higher education. Not surprisingly, the University of California is leading the effort, but it could spell trouble for higher education everywhere.

The Sound of Silence
Arizona has been ground zero in the fight against illegal immigration -- but a funny thing happened this week when a new anti-illegal alien state law went into effect. Nothing.

The Stakes in Iowa and New Hampshire
The world became a more dangerous place this week with the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The country, a linchpin in the war on terrorism, is wracked with violence, endangering not just Pakistanis but all of us. If Islamic fundamentalists are able to exploit the current chaos and gain control of the government -- an unspeakable but not inconceivable possibility -- we will be faced with a nuclear-armed enemy rather than one that relies on suicide belts and roadside bombs.

Destroying CIA Tapes Deserves a Thank You
His name isn't yet familiar to most Americans, but I expect it will be by the end of 2008: Jose A. Rodriguez Jr. He is the man, according to recent press reports, who ordered the destruction of interrogation tapes made by the CIA, which allegedly show the effects of waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation techniques" used against terrorists Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. In the next few months, his name will likely be dragged through the mud, and he will be vilified as a rogue official engaged in a massive cover-up. I think he deserves a medal.

Hillary: Too Clever by Half
For the past year, Hillary Clinton's Democratic presidential nomination has seemed inevitable. She raised more money than any presidential candidate in history. She performed well in an endless series of debates. She carved out careful positions on difficult issues, protecting her left flank while not alienating moderates. She used her husband to woo crowds and raise money, while never letting him overshadow her on the hustings.

Saving the Girl of Qatif
President Bush seemed at a loss for words this week when he was asked during a press conference if he would use his influence to help a Saudi rape victim who has drawn international attention. The young woman was raped 14 times by seven men and now faces her own imprisonment and 200 lashes in a sentence imposed by a Saudi court.

Turning Good News into Bad
With housing prices falling, energy prices climbing and the stock market on a roller coaster, it's no wonder many Americans are worried about their economic condition. But a new study on economic mobility in the United States suggests most of us are much better off than our parents were. Two out of three Americans have incomes higher than their own parents, and nearly 80 percent of children whose parents were in the poorest group of Americans in the late 1960s have higher income than their parents.

Big Brother Is Tracking You
Technology is making it easier to track and apprehend criminals in real time, but some civil libertarians worry that Fourth Amendment protections are being flouted in the process. Many new cell phones come equipped with tracking devices that can pinpoint the location of the phone to within 30 feet. The feature offers lots of possibilities both to users and law enforcement.

Terror in the Skies
Just in time for the busiest travel week of the year, we have this news from the General Accountability Office, Congress' investigative arm: It's relatively easy to get bomb-making materials through security checkpoints and onto airplanes. A group of undercover GAO workers apparently did so recently, managing to get past baggage screeners at 19 airports, despite new rules intended to prevent precisely this kind of thing from happening. Is this just holiday hype, or are we really vulnerable to another 9/11-style plot?

Immigrant Issue Can't Save Republicans
For the second time in as many years, immigration has fizzled as a wedge issue at the polls. In 2006, Republicans hoped to use anger over illegal immigration to maintain control of Congress, but failed miserably, losing races even in states like Arizona and Colorado that have experienced large influxes of illegal aliens.

Tortured Justice
Republicans need all the votes they can get next November if they are to have any hope of retaining the White House and winning back control of Congress. But one group of voters -- among whom the GOP has gained considerable ground over the last few elections -- now seems about to slip away, perhaps permanently.

Say Goodbye to Family Friendly TV
Judge Michael Mukasey seemed a shoo-in for confirmation to attorney general when he was nominated in September, but now his nomination seems in genuine peril. Democrats who were quick to praise his stellar credentials are suddenly mum on whether they'll vote for the retired federal judge -- that is if his nomination even makes it to the floor of the Senate.

Why Not Reward Excellence?
An employee who works harder than his colleagues, produces more and generally excels at his job should be paid more than one who is mediocre, or worse, a downright failure, right? Most employers reward good workers with promotions, bonuses and higher pay in order to keep them. But in the one profession you'd think that excellence should be rewarded -- namely, teaching -- it's often difficult to do so.

Profits, Not Unions, Save Jobs
Workers at Chrysler's U.S. plants went back to work six hours after the United Auto Workers union struck the automaker this week. The once powerful UAW, which in its heyday had more than 1.5 million members, used to be able to bring Detroit to its knees. No more. Today the UAW claims only 640,000 active workers, and its major goal in negotiations with the big car companies is to keep that number from shrinking. But the battle ultimately may be a losing one -- and the union is largely to blame.

Border Wars
Republicans need all the votes they can get next November if they are to have any hope of retaining the White House and winning back control of Congress. But one group of voters -- among whom the GOP has gained considerable ground over the last few elections -- now seems about to slip away, perhaps permanently.

Do We Have the Will to Win
The war in Iraq is unwinnable. It is becoming increasingly clear that the United States cannot obtain decisive victory in any conflict that lasts longer than a few weeks or months. Since World War II, we have lost or been stalemated in Korea and Vietnam, and Iraq appears to be headed in the same direction and for the same reason. Politicians don't have the will to support a protracted war because Americans have no stomach for it.

Why We Still Need a Civil RIghts Watchdog
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights turns 50 this week. Created by the 1957 Civil Rights Act, signed into law Sept. 9 that year by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Commission's work rarely makes the front pages as it did in the heyday of the civil rights movement. But it remains an important vehicle for public debate on civil rights issues, as evidenced by a controversial new report it has issued questioning whether affirmative action may actually do more harm than good to its intended beneficiaries.

Abuse of Power
There is something more than a little bizarre with the latest Washington feeding frenzy over Sen. Larry Craig. Don't get me wrong. I think what Sen. Craig did in the men's bathroom in Minneapolis was gross and sleazy. But is it really worthy of the press attention it has received this week? I just can't imagine a Democratic member of Congress being subjected to the same treatment if the facts, as we know them so far, were identical.

All the Pretty Horses
I had put off reading Cormac McCarthy's "All the Pretty Horses" for years, having picked it up when it first came out in paperback in 1993. But a Colorado vacation seemed a perfect time to take it up again. There's something satisfying about reading a book in sync with the locale where I happen to be.

Republicans Have No Heir Apparent
The GOP has traditionally been the party of political primogeniture. From Ronald Reagan to George Herbert Walker Bush to Bob Dole to George W. Bush, Republicans have nominated the man who could best lay claim to being the natural heir, either by virtue of his service to the party or his ability to ring up early endorsements and financial backing from the party faithful. In George W. Bush's case, he literally was the eldest son of the last Republican president and inherited much of the support his father had amassed over decades.

Pander Bear Hillary
Hillary Clinton may be pulling away from the pack of Democratic contenders, but she's still playing it safe. She's quick to stake out territory that puts her in the mainstream of Democratic opinion, even if it means disavowing her own past positions -- or those of her husband.

Quit Complaining
Ever wonder why women, on average, make less money than men? For years, feminists have argued that discrimination is to blame. But most careful studies show that once you take into account differences in the hours worked, years of experience, and the actual occupational or professional category in which women work, the gap narrows considerably.

Academic Fraud
Ward Churchill, the controversial University of Colorado ethnic studies professor who likened 9/11 World Trade Center victims to "little Eichmanns," has finally lost his job. CU regents voted 8-1 this week to fire Churchill after a lengthy investigation that revealed a long history of academic misconduct by Churchill, including plagiarism.

Democrats' New War
Barack Obama and John Edwards want to get us out of one war and into another. The two Democrats vying for their party's presidential nomination want to end the war in Iraq and spend at least some of the savings on a new war on poverty.

Colorblind History
World War II was a defining experience in my life. Although I was born two years after the war ended, I grew up hearing my father's stories of combat in the South Pacific. I still remember sitting in the backseat of our 1948 Ford staring at the half-moon scar on the back of my father's neck where a piece of shrapnel had become embedded. But there were other signs of his wartime experience as well, the way he'd jump out of his skin if a car backfired; his fear of flying, even though he'd spent countless hours as a tail gunner in the back of a B-17; his nightmares, reliving the time his plane was shot down over New Guinea.

Cash Cows
Now that the Democrats are raking in more campaign dough than the Republicans, it will be interesting to see if the media demonize the role of money in politics as they have in past elections when the GOP was winning the contributions race.

A Pyrrhic Victory
Immigration reform is dead. But before conservatives who killed this bill start popping champagne corks, they ought to consider the following.

Arnold, speak English, please
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger deserves two cheers for his comments to Hispanic journalists last week that Hispanics should "turn off the Spanish television set. It's that simple. You've got to learn English." But I'm holding back on the third cheer, in part because the governor hasn't always followed his own advice.

Celebrating Marriage
This week marks a milestone in my life: I'll be celebrating my 40th wedding anniversary (two days before I turn 60). I've been thinking a lot about marriage lately as I've been researching marriage, divorce and out-of-wedlock birth rates in my ongoing debate about Hispanic assimilation.

Good News on Stem Cells
Finally, some good news: A front-page story that not only brings hope on an important and contentious issue, but may even find Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, religious believers and non-believers cheering with equal enthusiasm. Scientists in Japan and the United States have now found a way to reprogram skin cells back to an embryonic state.

Chavez: Color-blind need to disavow those who aren't- Printed in the Tucson Citizen
It seems I've touched a raw nerve among my fellow conservatives. My column last week argued that "Some people just don't like Mexicans - or anyone else from south of the border," and that this sentiment was playing a destructive role in the current immigration debate.

The Great Assimilation Machine - Printed in the Wall Street Journal
For more than 200 years the United States has been the great assimilation machine, churning Germans, Swedes, Italians, Poles, Greeks, Russians, Lebanese, Chinese, Indians, Pakistanis and myriad others into Americans. There are many Americans today who believe, or worry, that the largest group of recent immigrants -- the nearly 20 million Hispanics who have come here in the last several decades -- are unwilling or unable to do the same.

Latino Fear and Loathing
Some people just don't like Mexicans -- or anyone else from south of the border. They think Latinos are freeloaders and welfare cheats who are too lazy to learn English. They think Latinos have too many babies, and that Latino kids will dumb down our schools. They think Latinos are dirty, diseased, indolent and more prone to criminal behavior. They think Latinos are just too different from us ever to become real Americans.

The Real Illegal Alien Threat
As details emerge from the plot to kill American soldiers at Fort Dix, New Jersey, one thing is clear. The United States may have more of a homegrown terrorist problem than some people imagine.

Anti-war or Anti-troop?
Now that they have failed to override President Bush's veto of the Iraq war funding bill, maybe Democrats can quit posturing and get down to the hard business of legislating. Democrats knew when they passed legislation setting a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops that it would not become law. Now they must negotiate with the White House, a process that began within hours of the president's veto.

Ending Racial Preferences: It's About Time
This week marks the beginning of the end of the racial spoils system that has come to symbolize affirmative action in higher education, as well as state contracting and employment. Ward Connerly, chairman of the American Civil Rights Institute and the father of the California Civil Rights Initiative, which abolished state-sponsored racial preferences in California more than a decade ago, has launched a new effort to place similar initiatives on the ballot in 2008 in several states, including Colorado, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arizona.

Preventing Evil
Thirty-three people are dead; 32 of them innocents, gunned down by a young man who then killed himself. We want to know why. We want to understand how such a horrific thing could happen on a bucolic college campus.

A Nation of Nincompoops
I am sick to death of Don Imus, and I'm tired of hearing his disgusting rant against the Rutgers women's basketball team. I don't care who fathered the daughter of trampy Anna Nicole Smith, nor was I interested in what killed the blowsy blonde or where she would be buried.

Progress on Immigration Reform
The Bush administration is desperate for a victory somewhere -- anywhere -- and White House operatives are hoping that they may eke one out on an unlikely issue: immigration reform.

Intolerance in the Twin Cities
Tolerance is a two-way street, as a group of Somali taxi drivers in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., are about to find out. In May, the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) in the Twin Cities is set to adopt new rules that will punish cabbies who refuse to haul passengers carrying liquor, even though the drivers claim their Muslim faith forbids them to do so.

Palestinian handouts
One year ago, the United States and the European Union decided to cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority after Palestinians elected Hamas, a U.S. and E.U.-designated terrorist organization, to lead their government. Now, it turns out, Western sources, including the U.S. government, have actually put more money into the West Bank and Gaza since Hamas took over than in previous years.

Shooting itself in the foot again
The Bush administration has a knack for shooting itself in the foot, or in the most recent example, the head. The latest self-inflicted wound, the botched firing of eight U.S. attorneys, may not prove fatal, but it has dealt a crippling blow to the White House at a time when the president can least afford it.

Scapegoat
Administration critics are gloating over Scooter Libby's conviction this week in the Valerie Plame leak case, but no one should be happy about this prosecution. The more we learn about the motivations of the federal prosecutor in this case and the attitudes of some jury members, the more it appears that justice has not been served.

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