During the decade following the signing of the Declaration of Independence, many educational proposals made their way through the new Union. These proposals sought the cultivation of active citizens through the "diffusion of knowledge and power." Thomas Jefferson's 1778 "Bill for the more General Diffusion of Knowledge" contemplated schools as uniquely qualified to delegate power and knowledge because of the...
There is now a deep and wide consensus -- both within the government and in the general populace -- that the American system of health care is severely dysfunctional and must be fixed. We must do this properly -- and soon -- to avoid the perfect storm of escalating anguish for the roughly 47 million Americans who cannot afford decent...
Last week's fatal shooting of a security guard at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., was an American tragedy. It was a tragedy that hurts every bone in the body of this country. Although we have lived through many tragedies before, each one hurts like it was the first one. But in every one, there is a...
The way we use -- or abuse -- our energy resources has serious consequences for the security of the United States and Israel, and for the health of our planet Earth and we who live here. Oil supply is a principal concern of the United States. Dependence on foreign sources makes us vulnerable to price hikes and supply controls. Our...
Let's start with the good news: 2008 charitable giving by Americans declined by only 2 percent from 2007, which had marked the strongest year for philanthropy this nation ever saw. According to Giving USA, which this week released the results of its annual report, Americans contributed a total of $307.65 billion to charitable causes. The bad news is that with...
Sivan 11, 5773
