Wallace G. Smith

The news today generally fails to communicate the complexities of the current Georgia/Russia conflict. The U.S. has long supported Georgia's bid to hold on to South Ossetia and Abkhazia, when the people of those provinces consider themselves Russian.

Another September 11 anniversary has come and gone. It is a day when our country cannot help but recall the horrific attack we suffered seven years ago. As we all surrounded our television screens watching smoke pouring out of the Twin Towers and the Pentagon in attacks that eventually cost some 3,000 lives, we came to the realization that something had changed.

Some of you may have read the July 6, 2008 article in the New York Times "Ancient Tablet Ignites Debate On Messiah and Resurrection."

The shock and controversy surrounding the Vanity Fair bareback-in-a-sheet photo-shoot of popular fifteen-year-old television and singing star Miley Cyrus has been passionate and persistent. The voices criticizing Miss Cyrus' choice to be in such a photo have been loud and numerous.

Since early 2004, America has had two robotic rovers on the surface of Mars, exploring, analyzing, and sending back breathtaking pictures and data galore, helping us to learn about our celestial neighbor. Originally expected to be a mission of around three months, the two rovers – dubbed Spirit and Opportunity – have surprised one and all by continuing successfully now for more than four years.