Washington Post reports the White House has announced plans to increase U.S. aid committments to $350m for the Indonesian and other tsunami victims. The move comes after public debate and criticism of the original committment, which the White House had claimed was only an initial donation. The U.S. is...

I don’t recall anyone having mentioned this in the past month, so I thought I’d update you on what’s going on with the Coalition of the Willing. You may have heard that the Government of Japan extended the special law allowing Japanese troops to take part in Iraqi operations; the law...

Christian Sciene Monitor describes five new GOP senators, whose appearance in the upper chamber could mark the end, or at least a temporary cessation, in the Senate’s less-partisan atmosphere and the beginning of a more combative style. These conservatives are echoes of the heady days of the 1995...

Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce. Caussidiere for Danton, Louis Blanc for Robespierre, the Montagne of 1848 to 1851 for the Montagne of 1793 to 1795, the nephew...

Here’s an article from the Washington Post about the reaction of different faith leaders to the tsunami in South Asia. One Christian website writes that the tsunami affected worst those countries that persecute Christians the most; some Indians think the wave was punishment for the arrest of a...

“That’ll be $67.53,” she said. I handed her my TJ Maxx gift card, but I didn’t really care how much of the total I had to pay on my own. I had plenty of money, especially after all the Christmas gifts. I think the remainder was thirty-something, but I didn’t care. I simply...

Reporter Abe Aamidor of The Indianapolis Star is doing a feature article on the popularity of ABC-TV’s “Desperate Housewives.” Love it or hate it, the show is popular. Does this show reflect the morals of suburban America, or is it driving them down? Is the show realistic? Or is it...

Josh Marshall offers a quote from Rep. Harold Ford (D - Tenn.) on Social Security: “I do not support changing the Social Security system as has been proposed by President Bush, nor do I support Social Security proposals advanced by the CATO Institute. In fact, both of these proposals have the potential...

Daniel Drezner, who is on the Board of Advisors for the Center for Global Development’s Ranking the Rich, offers in-depth solid data on the stinginess of American aid. He looks at both governmental and private charity, as well as a host of other factors. If you’re interested in the subject...

Richard Posner discusses whether American courts should cite foreign courts. As a general rule, Judge Posner concludes, the answer is “no,” although there are certain reservations to that rule. He gives three reasons: First, foreign judges are not part of the American political structure,...