WASHINGTON – Americans have always been strong supporters of the United Nations, and as events unfolding in New York in recent days underscore, that organization has never been more relevant.After dismissing the United Nations as “irrelevant” during the buildup to the war in Iraq, Bush administration officials and others are now finding it is the […]

ATLANTA – In my 50-plus years in medicine, I have seen dramatic changes in U.S. health care – most for the better, but some significantly for the worse.Medical technology and patient care have improved dramatically. We know exponentially more about many diseases and their treatment than we did a half-century ago. But one major trend […]

Mother Nature sure is great! Love those trees, rocks, hills and rivers. Every so often I head for Sun Valley, Idaho, because I have friends there, and because Idaho contains large quantities of nature. The problem is that my friends are never content to sit around with a cool beverage and look at the nature […]

BAGHDAD – While officials in Washington have been pointing to the creation of an Iraqi cabinet earlier this month as a clear indication of the progress that is being made in stabilizing the country and advancing it on the road to democracy, Iraqis themselves are less than convinced that their future has been assured.The appointment […]

Q My dictionary tells me that the origin of the word “rosary” comes from the Latin word for “rose garden.” I can’t even begin to figure out the connection here. Can you help? – E.D., Winter Haven, Fla. A: “Rosary” is from medieval Latin “rosarium,” which in earlier Latin had meant literally “a rose garden.” […]

Is it the melodies, the words or a chance to escape from thinking? The room was rockin’. Guitars wailed, drums flailed, raucous-raspy voices shouted out exploded lyrics, bodies shook. And I wondered why.I was born before rock ‘n’ roll existed. The late pioneer rock producer Sam Phillips, the legendary owner of Sun Records, believed the […]

“Undocumented” immigrants are gaining privileges reserved for legal residents. Asked what he thought about illegal immigration, the late singer-politician Sonny Bono replied: “It’s illegal.” Nowadays, of course, referring to illegal immigration as somehow illegal is considered overly harsh and judgmental, perhaps racist and nativist as well. Better to refurbish one’s vocabulary by talking about “undocumented […]

Kussay Al-Sabunchi was born in Iraq. That was his first mistake. His next mistake was sending flowers. An Iraqi-born computer engineer legally enters this country, works, pays taxes and follows the rules only to find he’s persona non grata for having sent flowers back in 1997 to a then-estranged wife. He now faces deportation in […]

WASHINGTON – Here’s how Maine’s members of Congress were recorded on major roll call votes in the week ending Sept. 19. HOUSE Gifts to charity Voting 408 for and 13 against, the House on Sept. 17 passed a bill (HR 7) allowing taxpayers who do not itemize their returns to deduct charitable contributions from taxable […]

DERRY, N.H. – Not for nothing did Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry’s presidential kickoff tour focus last week on the cheers of combat veterans and the tears of jobless workers.Nor was it any accident that Iraq and the sluggish economy dominated President Bush’s return from summer vacation. On Labor Day, Bush went to Ohio, pledging […]