Can a child be accused of child pornography? Could a child then be formally charged and convicted of it? These are the questions raised by the disturbing new trend called "sexting," teenagers sending nude or semi-nude pictures around on their cell phones. In some jurisdictions, prosecutors are playing hardball, threatening that students caught with naughty pictures could face jail time and being registered as sex offenders. At a minimum, prosecutors are demanding a 10-hour rehab ... [full story]

There's a huge hole in all of the public discussion about the reimposition of a "Fairness Doctrine" or a return to "localism" on the talk-radio format: What about National Public Radio (NPR)? Liberals would like to "crush Rush" and his conservative compatriots by demanding each station balance its lineup ideologically. But since when has NPR ever felt any pressure to be balanced, even when a majority of taxpayers being forced to subsidize it are center-right? ... [full story]

At a recent San Francisco event, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi denounced the Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests of illegal immigrants. "Taking parents from their children … that's un-American," Pelosi said. Fox News aired videotape of Pelosi's "un-American" remark last week, and a minor national story was born. Be it noted that Pelosi wasn't saying anything new. She has long opposed enforcement of federal immigration laws duly enacted by Congress, even as she pays lip service ... [full story]

There is no group more dangerous than one with some power, no scruples and leaders who think that they are really smart and that everyone else is really, really stupid. That description sadly fits not only the Wall Street swells whose credit default swaps toppled U.S. financial markets but also Congress. Like you, I am outraged at the $165 million paid out in AIG bonuses. I'm furious at the very notion of a bailed-out-by-taxpayers corporation ... [full story]

The war against drug cartels rages on in Mexico, and it has the full attention of the Obama administration. The conflict also has the potential to redefine for the better what has traditionally been a complicated and rocky marriage between the United States and its southern neighbor. It's not often that we see the president of the United States and three Cabinet secretaries travel to Mexico over the course of a few weeks to show ... [full story]

Conventional wisdom suggests that President Obama has too much on his agenda right now to even think about comprehensive immigration reform, let alone propose a plan to make it happen. In fact, there are many smart political analysts who say they wouldn't be surprised if Obama puts off immigration reform until his second term, if there is one. Well, don't look now but it seems Obama is thinking about immigration reform — and talking about ... [full story]

Public outrage at AIG's eye-popping bonuses at taxpayer expense is no surprise. We don't like it, either. We did, however, expect the response from Congress and the White House to be at least lawful. Instead, House members who should not have been surprised rushed to pass a new law of suspect constitutionality, all to undo a dozen lines in the month-old, 11,000-page stimulus bill that help us more in the bill than out. Maybe the ... [full story]

America's system for guaranteeing the safety of its food supply clearly is in need of strengthening. In the past year, we have seen a 17-state outbreak of salmonella that sickened 1,300 people, and contaminated peanut butter products that sickened more than 700 people. Public health experts estimate that each year about 76 million Americans are sickened by contaminated food, and about 5,000 die. The question now is, what should be done about it? Last week, ... [full story]

Banks levy about $17.5 billion each year in fees for overdrawn accounts, whether by bounced check, debit card purchase, cash withdrawal from an ATM or electronic payments of bills. That’s chump change compared to the hundreds of billions of dollars banks have received from various federal bailout programs. But both are a product of greed run amok. Bank customers are abused by fee structures that are as dishonorable as the AIG bonuses. But that may be about ... [full story]

Wall Street loved the Obama administration's new bank rescue plan. News that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner finally had put some flesh on his bare-bones ideas helped push up the Dow Jones industrials up 497.48 points Monday. But should the rest of us love it so much? That all depends on whether it works, and this is a plan fraught with risk. It's also one that might not go far enough. The heart of the Obama-Geithner ... [full story]