Entries by Admin

Two Fine Essays

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Even though the two essays by Amy Black and Paul Brink differ in the approaches they recommend, I somewhat surprisingly found myself largely in agreement with both of them. Both clearly recognize deep problems with our current K-12 educational system (if it can be called a system) and both sincerely seek answers rooted in a genuine concern for children and their families.

Education: Pathways to a More Promising Future

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Education is a political issue that overlaps with many others, and it is impossible to completely disentangle them. In the essay that follows, I will discuss the importance of public education, suggest some principles to guide our approach to education policy, and identify some ways Christians can help our nation’s children chart a path to a more promising future.

New Directions for Community Education

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When one stops to think about it, the notion that governments would take it upon themselves to educate children is rather strange.  Governments may be well-suited for tasks such as building highways, or fighting wars, or regulating economies—but educating 7-year olds?  Isn’t that rather an odd idea?

Topic #9: Education

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Please consider the following potential leading questions:  #1: What role, if any, should the federal government play in K-12 education as compared to state governments and local school districts?  #2: Was the Bush administration’s “No Child Left Behind” program a positive step or a negative interference by the federal government in local school affairs?  #3: […]

Health Care and Judgement Day (Part 2)

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Two years later as pundits projected how the Supreme Court would rule, they confirmed the heart of the opposition’s arguments; “State’s rights”, but they miscalculated the level of ideological loyalty within the nation’s highest court.

Health Care: The Road to Real Reform

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The Supreme Court will rule tomorrow on the constitutionality of major provisions of the Affordable Care Act, the health care reform package crafted by President Obama and Congressional Democrats. As we await the ruling on this legislation, let me offer a few thoughts on the economics and spiraling costs of health care in the United States, the kind of health care reform we really need, and what we as Christians can do to help meet needs now.

The Hard Work of Health Care Policy

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Health insurance functions in largely the same way as other forms of insurance. Consumers bet they will get sick, and insurers bet that they won’t. However, the health insurance market has characteristics that distinguish it from other insurance markets and make it quite complicated as a matter of public policy.

TOPIC # 8: Health Care

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Please consider the following potential leading questions   #1: The U. S. Supreme Court will soon pass judgment on whether the “individual mandate” requirement in President Obama’s Health Care initiative is constitutional. What are your views about this issue?   #2: If the “individual mandate” is declared unconstitutional, are there other workable and politically feasible […]

Same Sex Marriage and Sin

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For the purpose of this discussion, I will stick to the question of public policy. Given the fact that we live in a pluralistic democracy with a spectrum of experiences and deeply held convictions at play, how then shall we live together?