Speaking of his new appointment to head up the Central Intelligence Agency, President George Bush called four star General Michael Hayden, "the right man to lead the CIA at this critical moment in our nation 's history." Let 's hope Hayden isn't too much of a student of history. Otherwise, he might read the President's statements about Porter Goss, the man whose position he is filling, when Goss was appointed to head the CIA, 18 ... [full story]

After Apple Computer announced its new video-capable iPod, the San Francisco Chronicle's Mark Morford, a controversial and ever-iconoclastic columnist, enthused that the new "sexy" and "delicious" device would usher in a future where pornography would be available at the flick of a finger. But Morford isn't the only one imagining the future of podcasting. In June, the Corporate Podcasting Summit in San Francisco will provide an introduction to, and workshops on, podcasting to companies that ... [full story]

Oh, you’re going to love this. Its the latest tripe being ground out of the ever busy Bush Administration sausage factory of spin. Now that the evidence about global warming is pretty much nailed down, meaning every scientist on the face of the planet agrees that not only are we neck deep in the middle of it, the bottom of our earlobes are starting to tickle; turns out, no worries. Its really good for us. ... [full story]

On Saturday, May 13, when Senator John McCain (R-AZ) showed up to speak to the graduating class at the Reverend Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, hand shakes, smiles and hugs abounded. The key words of the day were “tolerance,” “respect,” and “understanding,” and the Senator’s overarching theme was his defense of President Bush War on Iraq. The Senator was nice; the Reverend was nice, the audience was nice. The bitter Republican Party presidential campaign of 2000 ... [full story]

The Heritage Foundation plays key role in Massachusetts' new health care initiative A few weeks back, UC Berkeley's Nicholas C. Petris Center on Healthcare Markets and Consumer Welfare (named after the former California state senator whose legislative career was marked by his deep concern with California's health care issues) sponsored a seminar on health care. One panel examined the current status of California's Proposition 63 -- the State's 2004 mental health initiative funded through ... [full story]

Well, the good news is the President has finally come up with an immigration policy. The bad news is nobody can figure out what it is yet, but hey, give the man his props; he gave it a shot. Sensing what could be called a somewhat dissatisfied electorate in the same way a 13 acre glacier might be referred to as an ice cube, he delivered his long awaited speech on immigration and uncharacteristically revealed ... [full story]

The recent debate over immigration policy commonly depicts immigrants as undocumented, uneducated people who flood our borders without inspection. Although many immigrants who enter this country are unskilled laborers who provide essential services in many sectors of our economy, of equal importance to the immigration debate are the highly educated foreign professionals whose skills play a vital role in the enrichment of our economy. The U.S. economy has shifted significantly over the past 50 years. We ... [full story]

Anywhere you go in Oregon, odds are good you will find evidence of gambling's popularity.  Driving to work, I pass an Oregon Lottery billboard.  Visiting a radio station for an interview, I see that the talk-show host had been playing poker on the computer. But what really surprised me was walking across a college campus and passing a series of posters, one advertising a student poker tournament, another reading "sex toy bingo" and a third advertising ... [full story]

The immigration debate is once again dominating the news as members of Congress focus on the long- neglected problem of fixing our country's failed immigration laws. American lawmakers are now at a critical point. Enforcement-only legislation won't work and hasn't worked. Previous efforts to solve this problem by focusing exclusively on border security have failed miserably. In fact, during the past decade, the U.S. tripled the number of agents on the border, quintupled the budget, toughened our ... [full story]