By Ken Mitchell

One of the hallmarks of the current healthcare reform debate has been the continuous stream of misinformation and misunderstandings about the various proposals – and organizations – in the discussion.

North Fayette United Methodist Church will host The Nashville Writers Group in concert Saturday, Oct. 17, at 7:30 p.m.

By SHELDON RICHMAN

Enough dithering! President Obama says it’s time to act on healthcare. I agree.

But act how? Are we really going to be happy with the pussy-footing proposals floating around Congress? All the so-called reformers want to do is tinker with insurance regulations. But how effective would that be, considering that the insurance companies themselves support the changes?

We have taken our eyes off the ball, people. Let’s get back to first principles. Obama’s premise is that we have a right to healthcare. A right.

By Robert M. Goldberg

When it comes to evaluating the claims of Democrats about rationing and how to deal with grandma, I am guided by that great philosopher, Marx. That’s Groucho, not Karl, who famously said, “Who do you believe, me or your eyes?”

By Elizabeth Lee Vliet, M.D.

I am dismayed that recent town halls across the country have been curtailed or canceled as spineless legislators refuse to face their constituents to hear average American citizens voice their fears and worries about what may be happening to their healthcare under the current “reform” proposals from Washington.

By Sheldon Richman

It’s easy to get distracted by the details and crushing cost estimates of “healthcare reform” while losing sight of the key question: Can a handful of congressmen, most of whom probably have never even run a small business, design an entire market for medical services and insurance?

By Jarrett Skorup

[Editor’s note: This article first appeared through the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a research and educational institute headquartered in Midland, Mich.]

By DAVID RAYNOR

In 1912, aiming for speed and ignoring iceberg warnings was a poor strategy for the Titanic. In 2009, aiming for universal health insurance and ignoring cost warnings is equally dangerous.

By Sheldon Richman

Barack Obama insists he does not want the government to run the medical system. He insists that he wants only to fix what’s broken while leaving what works intact.

By REP. LYNN WESTMORELAND

Any national healthcare reform must focus on increasing efficiency so that more Americans can have access to affordable coverage.

By Ray Nothstine

Individuals and groups terrified of nationalized healthcare like to point to examples of government dysfunction, such as Medicaid, to stoke fears of what a government-managed plan would look like in the United States.

By KIMBERLY LEARNARD

As federal stimulus dollars find their way into Georgia, we should all keep a close eye on where the money goes. Take a look at www.recovery.gov and click on the map to see what Georgia is doing with a few billion dollars. Among other projects, roads get $932 million and public transportation gets $144 million.

By Sheldon Richman

David Brooks, the New York Times’s resident neoconservative, delights in peddling a false alternative: freedom or social order.

By Dr. Jeffrey Herbener

The Bush administration subjected us to a deluge of fiscal and monetary expansion, the likes of which we haven’t seen since the 1960s.

By Harold Brown

Earth Day approaches again, and with it the self-flagellation that comes with what passes for “environmental consciousness” across this nation.

Answers to your questions about life, religion and the Bible

Pastors get some of the most interesting questions from people they meet and people in their congregations. Here are a few that I’ve gotten in my ministry over the years and via email for this column.

By Jason Pye

On Monday, Jan. 15, the 150th session of the Georgia General Assembly will be gaveled into session in Atlanta. From that time to Sine Die, as Mark Twain once said, “No man’s life, liberty or property are safe.”

By HAROLD BROWN

What is so attractive about concepts that defy definition? The concept du jour is “sustainable,” a fashionable adjective for many objectives, an umbrella for many agendas.

By Dr. John A. Sparks

Where will the Obama kids attend school in Washington? That question has been answered as it should be: by the new president and first lady.

By Rep. Lynn Westmoreland

We Georgians aren’t accustomed to all this national political attention. Our state’s Dec. 2 U.S. Senate runoff between incumbent Saxby Chambliss and Jim Martin, though, has thrust us into the national spotlight.

By state Sen. Mitch Seabaugh (R-Sharpsburg)

The current economic situation has energized a renewed focus on the fundamental role of government in the daily lives of its citizens. Government should be able to demonstrate to taxpayers that their tax dollars are justified and that they are spent wisely and effectively.

by Dr. Mark W. Hendrickson

Thrift used to be a virtue in America. In Asia, thrift remains a way of life — for example, it is estimated that the average Chinese family’s thrift rate is 30 to 40 percent — which helps explain the rapid growth rates there.

By Sean Wilson

As Georgia continues to grow and thrive, it needs power generation capable of sustaining that growth. But the options seem to be shrinking among the body politic for varying environmental, economic and aesthetic reasons.

In the 2008 legislative session, four years after the passage of HB 237, the “Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Planning Act,” state lawmakers approved the framework for the comprehensive statewide water plan.

By MARK LINVILLE

My family moved to Fayetteville from Northfield, Minnesota in 1997.

Now, Northfield has always boasted a diverse population, and has had few problems with hostilities among the different people groups abiding there.

By Laura Mazer

[Editor’s note: Tony Snow wrote a nationally syndicated opinion column for Creators Syndicate from 1993 to 2000. He resumed his column in spring 2005 and continued it until joining the Bush administration as press secretary in April 2006. Laura Mazer was the managing editor of Creators Syndicate, and was Tony’s editor and friend for many years. He appeared as one of The Citizen’s syndicated columnists for several years.]

By ELLIE WHITE-STEVENS

This Republican primary I’m working with 10 of our candidates on their advertising. Some of them chose to answer The Citizen’s questions for the online forum, some did not. While I’ve had my say in a lot of their advertising strategy, I’d like to approach them, and the other candidates, with some media advice from a professional.

By Dr. Tracy C. Miller

An Indian government official recently criticized the Bush administration for blaming the growing middle classes of developing countries, such as India and China, for rising food prices. Although he may have misinterpreted the president’s remarks, his and other Indian critics’ responses are worth thinking about.

By Ed Sherwood

With the approach of Memorial Day, I have been thinking a lot about my uncle who died in World War II. I was born in 1945 and do not remember learning about his death until I was 10 years old.

By Keith Lockitch

On the evening of Saturday, March 29, cities around the world turned off their lights for one hour to “raise” awareness about global warming. In observation of Earth Hour, iconic landmarks such as the Sears Tower and the Sydney Opera House went dark, while participating individuals turned off residential lights.