Here in the Bible Belt, there are few things that people find more entertaining than organizations like PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). We've read our Holy Book and we know God gave us dominion over creation.

Point of View:  As the man I love spent 12 hours in Seattle emergency rooms, awaiting a bed in the cardiac unit and word on surgery, I sat by his side, feeling scared and nervous but mostly helpless. Away from family, friends and community, there wasn't a lot I could do.

At the National Prayer Breakfast last week, seeking theological underpinning for his drive to raise taxes on the rich, President Barack Obama invoked the highest possible authority.

Jenkins:  The historic principle of building a wall between "church and state" goes back in large part to a pretty credible fellow named Thomas Jefferson.

Will:  Through 11 presidential elections, beginning with the Democrats' nomination of George McGovern in 1972, Republicans have enjoyed a presumption of superiority regarding national security.

Child sexual abuse is one of the few crimes in which the penalty outlives the sentence.

Martinez:  Imagine if the feds told the Roman Catholic Church that women must be ordained as priests because not doing so violates anti-discrimination laws.

POINT OF VIEW:  On this 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens' birthday it seems appropriate to tip our hats to this literary giant.

In the most recent Gallup poll on abortion, as many Americans described themselves as pro-life as called themselves pro-choice.

POINT OF VIEW:  President Barack Obama said in his State of the Union address that he wants to upgrade the nation's "critical infrastructure," including our "incomplete high-speed broadband network that prevents a small business owner in rural America from selling her products all over the world."

Criticism of Mitt Romney for lacking a coherent message is grossly unfair. He has been forthright, consistent and even eloquent in pressing home his campaign's central theme: Mitt Romney desperately wants to be president.

Rick Santorum is back! Is Herman Cain next? Do you think Rick Perry is kicking himself for dropping out of this race? Paging Sarah Palin!

Two years ago, while delivering his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama looked the Supreme Court justices in the face and told them they were wrong to have allowed special interests to spend without limits on campaigns.

Point of View:  Iran has been responsible or complicit in a continuum of terrorist violence either through the Quds Force of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard or through various proxies or surrogates, including Hezbollah.

Fallen super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff is out of prison now but still doing penance.

As a former chief economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture I can attest to the fact that farming is indeed a risky business.

Editorial:  Voter turnout in the United States is often nothing to brag about, what with many busy and distracted citizens deciding that election day can proceed quite nicely without their input.

The following editorial appeared in Friday's Washington Post:

President Barack Obama's plan to make college more affordable is noble in intent but misses the mark in design.