The James Logan Courier

By Michael Goodwin
New York Daily News (MCT)

For months, the Iraq war has been reduced to a stark choice: Baghdad or bust. Either the U.S. and Iraqi forces would pacify the capital, or the mission would unravel.

It is time to face the awful truth. Each day is bringing us closer to bust than to victory. We are witnessing the tipping point.


U.S. Army Soldiers from various units prepare their equipment at Baghdad International Airport, Iraq, for redeployment into Iraq Oct. 24, 2006. DoD photo by Master Sgt. Steve Cline, U.S. Air Force. (Released)

By J.R. Labbe
McClatchy Newspapers(MCT)

Voting. Volunteering. Raising money for a charity.

These characteristics of a healthy democracy have been hallmarks of American civic engagement since the days when Alexis de Tocqueville was wandering the nation observing its energetic infancy.

If only they were vigorously embraced by today's youths.

By John Chau, Courier Staff Writer

On Saturday, The UN Saturday council unanimously approved a series of economic sanction on North Korea, the leader of which recently announced a series of nuclear tests. It has further terrorized the harried U.S. citizens, who are currently facing the nuclear advent of Iran. To a citizen on the West coast, the sanctions sound like a providential deliverance, but can they offer adequate protection to our beleaguered nation?

By Dan Paden
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (MCT)

In early October, animal lovers in communities all over the country will bring their dogs, cats, birds and other companion animals to their churches for the annual Blessing of the Animals. This ceremony is conducted in remembrance of Saint Francis, whose love for all creation is well known. It's a nice ceremony, assuming that the animals are not terrified by unfamiliar surroundings, but it raises a question I believe Francis would ask were he here today: In our society of animal lovers, why do the vast majority of animals miss out on the blessing and our compassion?



Detail from The Legend of St Francis: Sermon to the Birds, by Giotto di Bondone circa
1297-99. Fresco, 270 x 200 cm, Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi

By Alison Malmon (MCT)

WASHINGTON — As another academic year shifts into full gear, millions of college students once again are settling in with new roommates, adjusting to new course schedules, and adapting to life away from families and friends.