Radio America Online News Bureau

On Tuesday, President Obama outlined his five pillars for federal education reform, ranging from early childhood education to charter schools to merit pay for teachers and more government assistance for those wishing to attend college.  Is this a responsible approach or is it a politically-driven agenda?  What are the benefits of charter schools?  Are standardized tests necessary or a waste of valuable class time?  We ask these questions and others to Marcus Winters, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

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The latest consumer optimism survey from Investor’s Business Daily shows Americans remain pessimistic about our short-term economic outlook but are are feeling better then they were a month ago despite an endless stream of bad economic reports.  So why is that?  What are the key factors in triggering confidence or a lack of confidence?  How much of the sentiment is based on politics rather than the current economic realities?  And what accounts for today’s jump on Wall Street?  We ask Ken Shreve, markets reporter for Investor’s Business Daily.

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We have Monday’s top news… What did President Obama order today on the issue of embryonic stem cell research?  Why are critics very upset about the moral and ethical precedent this sets?  What are the facts on progress involving the destruction of embryos and progress with adult stem cells?  What are the latest moves from the Obama administration concerning the economy?  Why is the White House not concerned about the myriad of vacancies at the Treasury Department?  What happened on Wall Street Monday?  We answer all these questions as we bring you the biggest stories for Monday, March 9, 2009.

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President Obama recently told The New York Times that he believes discussions with certain elements of the Taliban could be constructive in arriving at a long-term strategy for Afghanistan. Is he right or is this a pipe dream? Is Iraq good or bad evidence to support Obama’s theory? How have Obama’s own words hurt the potential for this strategy? And what is the secret behind the Taliban resurgence in recent years? We ask retired U.S. Navy Captain Chuck Nash.

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On Monday, President Obama reversed Bush administration policy on embryonic stem cell research and allowed for a major increase in taxpayer dollars for projects that will include the creation and destruction of human embryos. What are the facts on embryonic stem cell research? Has it shown any promise in the great deal of research that has been funded? Where is the real progress being seen when it comes to stem cell treatments? Why the big push for more dollars on the embryonic front? And will a cloning ban be effective or are we headed down a slippery ethical slope into a moral sewer? We ask David Christensen, senior director of Congressional affairs at the Family Research Council.

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A new American Religious Identification Survey shows that fewer Americans identify themselves with a particular faith or denomination.  It also shows a huge rise among those who have no faith affiliation and an increase in those nominally connected with a particular church?  Why is this happening?  How are American attitudes changing?  What role do the churches play?  How consistent is the trend?  And what is the long-term impact on our nation and on our culture?  We ask Alan Wisdom, vice president at the Institute on Religion and Democracy.

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Relations with China have been tested again by a series of seemingly minor international incidents. But the latest episode of China trying to force a U.S. ship further away from its waters is drawing ire from the Pentagon? What is China trying to prove through these unnecessary acts of aggression? What does it tell us about China’s long term goals? And what role do our differences with Taiwan play in all of this? We ask retired U.S. Army General Paul Vallely, who served as deputy commanding general in the Pacific theater.

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We have Friday’s top news…How bad were the unemployment numbers for February that were released on Friday?  Do experts see the numbers improving soon?  What are Congressional Republicans urging President Obama to do to address the financial crisis?  How did stocks react to the dismal news?  What did Obama have to say about our nation’s fiscal woes on Friday?  What step will Obama take on Monday that’s sure to infuriate pro-life Americans?  Why does Secretary of State Hillary Clinton say we should not “waste a crisis”?  And what diplomatic stumbles did Clinton and Obama make this week?  We have all the answers as we bring you the biggest stories for Friday, March 6, 2009.

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Why has a U.S. Army captain been ordered out of the military?  What did he do in Afghanistan to save the lives of his men?  How extreme were his actions against the enemy?  Why were those actions necessary in the first place?  How did it get turned into a massive legal issue?  And who are the real culprits in this case?  We discuss the case of Captain Roger Hill with retired U.S. Air Force General Tom McInerney.

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How much government spending would be required to fund President Obama’s health care agenda?  How can we afford that while Medicare remains awash in red ink – like the rest of the government?  Why is the Obama team likely to shrink rather than expand the private sector role in health care?  We ask these and other questions to Joe Antos of the American Enterprise Institute.  He is also a health adviser to the Congressional Budget Office.

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