Monday, December 4, 2023 | 
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Bethan Owen

Gov. Rick Perry makes a statement at the capitol building in Austin, Texas on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2014 concerning the indictment on charges of coercion of a public servant and abuse of his official capacity. Perry is the first Texas governor since 1917 to
Opinion
Join the discussion: Is Rick Perry’s indictment helpful or harmful?
Gov. Rick Perry was recently indicted on charges of coercion and abuse of official capacity, according to The Economist. While it sounds disastrous at first, could these charges actually benefit Perry in the long run?
By Bethan Owen
President Barack Obama and former president George W. Bush talk in the White House.
Opinion
Republicans and Democrats agree, in part, on the big problems America is facing
Democrats and Republicans have similar concerns about the challenges America is facing, according to Gallup.
By Bethan Owen
Members of the online group Anonymous protest at an Occupy Wall Street event.
Opinion
Join the discussion: What are we to make of online vigilantism?
Anonymous is a global network of online “hactivists,” hackers and Internet users who “often have little in common other than a willingness to insert themselves into red-hot social and political situations.”
By Bethan Owen
A law enforcement officer watches Sunday, Aug. 17, 2014, as tear gas is fired to disperse a crowd protesting the shooting of teenager Michael Brown last Saturday in Ferguson, Mo. Brown's shooting in the middle of a street following a suspected robbery of
Opinion
Join the discussion: Have local police become too militarized?
After the unarmed Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, Missouri, protesters were put down with tear gas, rubber bullets and police officers wearing camouflage, according to NPR.
By Bethan Owen
"Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me" is by Harvey Pekar and JT Waldman.
Media & Books
Book review: ‘Not the Israel my Parents Promised Me’ illustrates Israel’s history
Few books, let alone graphic novels, can successfully serve as a history lesson, an autobiography and a commentary on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict all at once, but that is what “Not the Israel my Parents Promised Me” has done.
By Bethan Owen
"Wyatt Earp: A Vigilante Life" is by Andrew C. Isenberg.
Family
Book review: ‘Wyatt Earp: A Vigilante Life’ goes past the cowboy’s Hollywood image
“Wyatt Earp: A Vigilante Life” is a story about the cowboy that peels back the layers of Hollywood glamor.
By Bethan Owen
In a recent interview with Jeffery Goldberg of the Atlantic, Hillary Clinton explained exactly how her foreign policy stance differs from President Obama’s, leading some to speculate that she is trying to distance herself from the president.
Opinion
Join the discussion: Is Hillary Clinton distancing herself from Obama’s foreign policy?
In a recent interview with Jeffery Goldberg of the Atlantic, Hillary Clinton explained exactly how her foreign policy stance differs from President Obama’s, leading some to speculate that she is trying to distance herself from the president.
By Bethan Owen
An Iraqi volunteer force chant slogans against the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant during training in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles south of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, June 25, 2014, after authorities urged Iraqis to help
Opinion
Join the discussion: Will Western jihadists in Syria be a threat to the U.S.?
A small but determined number of Americans and Western Europeans are joining forces with jihadist groups in the Middle East, raising concerns that they will bring their extremist mentalities back to their home countries in dangerous ways.
By Bethan Owen
President Jimmy Carter signing an extension to the Equal Rights Amendment.
Opinion
Join the discussion: Is feminism misunderstood?
“Women Against Feminism” is a new social media movement that has sparked a debate across the Internet, leading to discussions on what it means to be a feminist in the 21st century.
By Bethan Owen
Presidents Bush, Obama, and Clinton discuss the aftereffects of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
Opinion
Join the discussion: Is it impossible to be a successful president?
Being a successful president of the United States is impossible, according to Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post. In this day and age, he wrote, no president can hope for an approval rating much higher than 50 percent.
By Bethan Owen
Opinion
The relationship between religiosity and political affiliation
Very religious Americans are more likely to be Republican, while the nonreligious are more likely to be Democrats, according to a new poll from Gallup.
By Bethan Owen
Opinion
The complicated political views of Millennials (infographic)
Millennials have complicated and sometimes contradictory political views, according to a recent poll conducted by the libertarian magazine Reason.
By Bethan Owen
James Franco rides a North Korean tank in the trailer for "The Interview."
Opinion
Join the discussion: Should North Korea’s threats be taken seriously?
“This fall,” reads the trailer for the upcoming film “The Interview,” “James Franco and Seth Rogan will try to assassinate Kim Jong Un.” Un, the ruler of North Korea, is less than thrilled at the premise of the film.
By Bethan Owen
President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks about foreign policy and escalating sanctions against Russia in response to the crisis in Ukraine in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, July 16, 2014.
Opinion
Join the discussion: Does the lawsuit against Obama have any value?
Speaker John Boehner is in the process of filing a lawsuit against President Obama for failing to uphold the law, according to Politico. The decision to press charges has been met with a wide range of opinions in the political sphere.
By Bethan Owen
Palestinian Suma Abu Mahsen, 7, stands by a damaged wall of a house following an overnight Israeli missile strike to a nearby transition center for newly released convicts, that was not yet operational, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, July 15, 201
Opinion
Join the discussion: Is the media too biased on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
The relationship between the U.S. and Israel has been reintroduced into the public eye in the wake of the recent violence. As the U.S. reports on the events, some have argued that the mainstream media deliver biased news on the conflict.
By Bethan Owen
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama walk past each other on stage at the end of the last debate at Lynn University, Monday, Oct. 22, 2012, in Boca Raton, Fla.
Opinion
Join the discussion: Why do members of the LDS Church disapprove of President Obama?
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have lower approval ratings for President Obama — 18 percent — than any other major religion, according to a new Gallup poll.
By Bethan Owen
United States' goalkeeper Tim Howard saves a shot by Belgium during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Belgium and the USA at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Brazil, Tuesday, July 1, 2014.
Opinion
Join the discussion: Does America really love soccer?
Traditionally, the U.S. has never been as interested in soccer as other countries. However, the 2014 World Cup has seen a massive spike in American soccer fans, prompting a debate as to whether the U.S. could become a soccer nation.
By Bethan Owen
Paul Clement, attorney for Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood, center, stands with attorney David Cortman, right, as they speak to reporters in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, Tuesday, March 25, 2014.
Opinion
Join the discussion: How can religion and business work together?
Closely held corporations (such as the family-owned Hobby Lobby) are not required to provide birth control for employees if it goes against sincerely held religious belief, according to Monday’s Supreme Court ruling.
By Bethan Owen
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Opinion
Join the discussion: How much structure do children need?
As summer begins, those with school-age children have to decide what these kids will do with their weeks off of school and how closely they will be monitored. But the amount of structure in kids’ free time makes a difference on how they learn.
By Bethan Owen
This Nov. 7, 2012 file photo shows Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney waving to supporters at an election night rally in Boston.
Opinion
Join the discussion: Why is the GOP still hung up on Romney?
Despite repeated insistence that he won’t be running in 2016, Mitt Romney is still a favored GOP darling.
By Bethan Owen
This Friday, June 20, 2014, file photo shows Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaking at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority event in Washington. The Kentucky Republican told NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday, June 22, that he blames those who supported
Opinion
Join the discussion: Does the GOP belong to hawks or doves?
Sen. Rand Paul and former Bush administration Vice President Dick Cheney came to a sharp political disagreement this weekend on the subject of Iraq.
By Bethan Owen
President Barack Obama listens to a reporter's question in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, May 30, 2014, where he made a statement following his meeting with Veterans Affairs Secretary Shinseki. The president said t
Opinion
The only good thing to come from the VA scandal
In a rare display of unanimity, the House passed a bill designed to reform Veteran Affairs health services on Tuesday, The Washington Post reported. In the wake of the VA scandal, Republicans and Democrats have been able to ignore their differences.
By Bethan Owen
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Opinion
Americans growing more partisan over time
Americans are increasingly more ideologically consistent since 1994 and, therefore, more partisan, Pew Research reports.
By Bethan Owen
Honoree, Susan Sarandon, right, and Somaly Mam, left, arrive to the Somaly Mam Foundation's second annual benefit in New York, Thursday, Sept., 17, 2009.
Opinion
Join the discussion: Will a dishonest leader hurt the anti-sex trafficking movement?
Somaly Mam, the Cambodian anti-sex-trafficking activist turned celebrity figure, has recently come under fire for fabricating much of her personal history, including her purported years spent enslaved in a brothel, Newsweek reported.
By Bethan Owen