To the Point

Bush Proposes Marriage as Cornerstone of Welfare

In 1996, under President Bill Clinton, Congress passed massive welfare reform. This year, the Act comes up for reauthorization, and President Bush has proposed two additions. One is employment training to move people out of dead-end, minimum-wage jobs. Another is the promotion of marriage and "family formation," to combat child poverty. A third of American babies are born out of wedlock, and 80 percent of poor children live in one-parent homes. But the President's marriage proposal has raised a host of questions. Does welfare discourage marriage? Can marriage help end welfare? Does the government have any business in such a personal matter? We find out what that means and get a taste of the upcoming controversy. Newsmaker: US Military Operations Vetted by Lawyers As international laws have become more numerous and complex, the Pentagon has deployed a new kind of army. In war rooms, on aircraft carriers, even sleeping near soldiers on desert sands, lawyers are part of America's fighting forces. That's from today's Los Angeles Times in a story by Esther Schrader. Reporter's Notebook: How Did The Left Allow Republicans to Capture The Message? A year ago, George Bush was the President whose election was guaranteed by the Green Party's Ralph Nader. Now, he's a wartime President with sky-high ratings. Whatever happened to America's Left? Jim Hightower is among the progressive politicians and thinkers in Los Angeles this weekend for a conference organized by the Americans for Democratic Action.