At one point in his acceptance speech before the Democratic National Convention last month, Vice President Gore worked himself up into a rhetorical outcry: The last thing this country needs is a Supreme Court that overturns Roe v. Wade. That was actually a scare tactic. On June 28 of this year, the

Won’t it be fun when we can take gondola rides through downtown Miami and Los Angeles? And will not Eskimos smile when the Yukon River Valley grows cantaloupe for the European Union? And won’t we rejoice when, instead of taking the same old cruise to the palmy Caribbean, we can do someth

 Since 1938, when the newly passed Federal Labor Standards Act established the first minimum wage at 25 cents an hour ($2.89 in 1998 dollars), eight presidents have signed into law increases of varying amounts. The minimum wage has provided a safeguard against some of the more egregious forms o

The problem with gasoline prices is not that they have been too high this summer, but that they have been too low for the past two decades. American drivers do not want to hear this hard truth, and American politicians are making matters worse by playing the blame game and proposing silly solutions

Thanks to medical advances, Americans are living longer than ever before. A dark underside to this picture, however, is the rising incidence of elder abuse—an increase that is related to the growing number of elderly people in the United States. Demographers predict that the numbers of elderly

The U.S. Supreme Court Justices left their fellow citizens plenty to think about when they adjourned last month amid a crescendo of significant decisions. In three of those cases, the court decided some sharply focused constitutional issues without coming anywhere near to wrapping up the profound mo

As the House was preparing to debate the China trade bill on May 24, Representative Bill Archer, the Texas Republican who is chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, warned his colleagues: "This vote will be the most important vote that we cast in our congressional careers."That overstate

Two provocative offerings in this week’s issue deserve particular attention, not only in light of their authorship, but also because of the importance of their message for the universal church. The first is this year’s John Courtney Murray lecture, delivered by Elizabeth A. Johnson, C.S.

More than 2,500 years ago the Greek historian Herodotus observed that if anyone were given the opportunity of choosing from among all the nations of the world the best set of beliefs, he would inevitably choose those of his own country. Herodotus further asserted that everyone believes his own nativ

Health care is emerging as a major campaign issue, and rightly so, because we are in trouble. The U.S. Census Bureau has found that over 44 million people lack health insurance. It is estimated that by the year 2008, the number of uninsured will have risen to 55 millionalmost a quarter of all non-el