Articles written by Jake Betz

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Food & Drink > Dining Etiquette Should cell phones be banned in restaurants?: 3 of 115
This question is akin to asking: Should blow horns be allowed in restaurants? That would yield universal agreement. Of course not. In close quarters, blow horns are like the proverbial fingernail on the blackboard. Using a blow horn within a few short feet of the nearest diner, likely a total stranger, would amount to ... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Political Issues Should abortions be publicly funded?: 1 of 22
No issue is more divisive than abortion, and it's an issue where there is no room for compromise. Those who oppose abortion believe life starts at conception. For anyone who holds that belief, there can be no hedging. Abortion is morally wrong. Abortion is legal in the United States, thanks to the controversial 1973 U.S. Sup... More..
Other If you could have a one-hour interview with any human being past or present, who would it be?: 12 of 228
That's an easy question. Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States. It is 100 years since the "first Roosevelt" left office and 90 years since his death. Although "TR" invariably scores high on "greatest presidents" lists, he is nevertheless the most underrated and underappreciated chief executive in U.S... More..
Politics, News & Issues > US Politics (Other) Does the risk of influenza justify causing public panic?: 1 of 16
The swine flu epidemic is certainly serious business, no doubt about that. It is not just a simple little case of the sniffles. Reuters reported in early June, that the H1N1 flu virus, has been reported in all 50 states, with 10,000 cases confirmed. But that doesn't begin to tell the whole story. The Centers for Disease C... More..
Entertainment > TV Characters & Personalities The top TV leading women in 1970s: 1 of 12
Forget all that blather about the 1950s being the Golden Age of Television. That title rightly belongs to the 1970s. What made the 1970s so memorable were the landmark shows and the fabulous female actresses who starred in them. The powerful characters these queens of the small screen created will be forever etched in our mem... More..
Jobs & Careers > Employment Law Should employee performance reviews be abolished?: 2 of 22
Who is most likely to answer this question in the affirmative? That's easy. Bosses who are either too uneducated or too lazy to do performance reviews correctly. Performance reviews are absolutely indispensable because they are the only way to fairly assess the quality of an employee's work. Through adoption and utilization ... More..
Food & Drink > Dining & Restaurants (Other) Should restaurants be required to list calories and fat grams on their menus?: 16 of 163
It's a mother's job to make sure her children eat healthy, nutritious food at every meal. The restaurant chef is not your mother. There is a growing, and disturbing, expectation that government's principal role is to formulate regulations "for our own good," from cradle to the grave. But why should the government, ... More..
Relationships & Family > Family Life How to deal with guests who bring along unwelcome pets: 2 of 20
When an invitation is extended to a relative or friend to visit, the prospective guest has no right to assume this invitation automatically includes Fido or Puff. Because pets so quickly become members of the family, it is difficult for pet lovers to fathom that others may not love and appreciate their dog or cat as much as... More..
Jobs & Careers > Employers Should employers monitor employees' Internet use?: 7 of 63
It's a no-brainer. The employer has every right to monitor Internet use. An employee is on company time, and he is using a company computer. There are excellent reasons for monitoring Internet use on a regular basis. A lazy employee, one who goofs off on the job and does not focus on the tasks at hand, makes the or... More..
Arts & Humanities > European History Should Spain strike Franco from the history books?: 1 of 9
Franco's name should never be eliminated from Spain's history books, but educators and historians should make sure recorded history conforms to reality, not the sanitized version that former Franco partisans or his modern-day apologists might prefer. Spaniards who love freedom and are committed to human rights have every rig... More..