In case you’ve been living in a cave or spent the holiday season on a deserted island, I have big news for you: Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant. Yes, it’s true; the younger sister of celebrity train-wreck Britney Spears is going to be an unwed mother.

Jamie Lynn, 16, the wholesome star of the Nickelodeon television series “Zoey 101,” somehow is having a baby herself.

It’s hard to generalize about one case of teen pregnancy, and it’s a reminder of the hard work we still need to do to reduce teen pregnancies in this country. What really bugs me is President Bush’s policy that 100 percent of federal money must go to abstinence-only programming.

I understand that abstinence programming is important, and that some parents want it, but 100 percent of federal dollars? There is a time, place and need for traditional sex education. Our kids need it in a world where you can get endless information on the Internet. They need to know the facts and the truth.
My beef with Bush is that his religious beliefs cloud his political thinking and judgment.

I keep hearing that our country is based on Judeo-Christian values. But that should mean we use our religious beliefs to affect policy. After all, some say that capital punishment is allowed in the Bible. Yet, with the advent of DNA testing and more sound criminal policies, capital punishment has been shown to have major issues, including executing innocent people.

Instead, let sound values, not religion, govern our land. Goodness knows the Spears family could use a little help there.

It’s an easy solution to all our ills. Bad politicians—it’s because of the media. Homicide rates are increasing—it’s those pesky journalists.

Sure, some news programs and publications focus way too much on negative news or reveal more than we need to know about celebrities’ personal lives. Overall, in America we’re blessed with First Amendment freedoms and some of the world’s best publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.

The BALTIMORE JEWISH TIMES, the leading independent Jewish publication in North America, has been accused of lowering its standards in the past year during its historic enterprising journalism on the allegations of sexual molestation by prominent local rabbis.

Executive Editor Phil Jacobs has had the courage to use his name publicly, and protect the victims of these crimes providing anonymity. Interestingly, our website allows people to comment anonymously on our blogs and all news stories. Scores of people have blasted Phil and the victims anonymously. They don’t have the courage to put their names in print, but those same people chastise the victims of horrible events for not wanting to go through the embarrassment of putting their names in public.

Most reputable news organizations from the New York Times to ABC News won’t divulge the names of sexual crime victims. Should the JEWISH TIMES be held to a different standard than the nation’s leading media?

These anonymous writers asked why we would print the address and work place of the most recent alleged perpetrator, Yisroel Shapiro. Well, if there were someone accused of molesting little boys living on your street or working in a place where you shop, wouldn’t you want to know about it? Of course you would. That’s why there are public registers for these people.

There are other complaints about the timing of our stories. But the fact is, the man was served with papers and it became news. That’s what we do. We write news stories. Any day now, Yisroel Shapiro is expected to enter a plea bargain. As they said about Sen. Larry Craig, innocent men don’t plead guilty. We didn’t cause this misery to Mr. Shapiro, but we will do our best to ensure that he can never again hurt a little boy.

Now other news sources are picking up our stories. So far, there have been pieces in the Baltimore Sun and on WJZ-TV, providing further evidence that we keep publishing valid and valuable news stories.

Some people will say that we created an embarrassing situation in front of the non-Jewish community. Well, until we broke the stories the entire community was pathetically ignoring this serious situation. Since we brought the stories to light, the community has really started to change – for the better. Blame the media; that’s fine. Because the reality is that thanks to the very hard work of Phil Jacobs, more young Jewish children are safer from predators.

The story isn’t over yet. The authorities are investigating other rabbis that we have written about, so there may be even more charges filed.

We also are investigating evidence about another prominent rabbi. Sadly, we haven’t published that yet because 20 years later, his victims are still fearful of the stigma of sexual molestation and the power that rabbis hold.

But, this rabbi, along with any other, should take note that that as long as there is a free, independent Jewish press in Baltimore, we will be the watchdog for this great community. And their sick crimes may still become public.

One of the most influential men in the United States came to Baltimore last week to speak at an Associated Jewish Community Federation event Tuesday.

Tim Russert, host of Meet the Press, is known for asking the tough questions to wanna be presidents. But, on Tuesday, he did something he doesn’t do on his Sunday morning TV program: he gave his opinion on world affairs.

Speaking to a mostly Jewish audience, he advocated for a lot of different things and spoke of the important of instilling values and character in our children. He asked us to do that by leading by example.

He also spoke about the importance of acting now to ensure Iran doesn’t develop nuclear weapons. Russert said that the U.S. faced a “big decision” about how to handle the Islamic nation that supports terror. The moderator who’s interviewed almost every U.S. leader and learned a little along the way thinks sanctions and diplomacy are crucial. Why shouldn’t, he asked, talk with our enemies.

Russert echoed his “good friend Tom Friedman” columnist for the New York Times, suggestion that we needed a Manhattan project for energy independence. Again, he challenge the audience as to why Democrats and Republicans; Liberals and Conservatives can’t agree how energy independence is key to our national security. “We have to be nice to bad people because they have oil,” Russert told us, and that creates a threat to the United States and Israel.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the U.s. Senate passed the most significant energy bill in 30 years. It’s missing a few key components. But, it’s progress after years of neglect of strategic importance, not to mention helpful to our environment. More importantly, Congress agreed to fund measures that will provide loans guarantees for energy projects. This is important, as Tim Russert suggests, to help protect the U.S. and Israel.

My husband & I have eaten at the Sunday brunch a few times with my husband’s large family. We were treated well, the food was good & plentyful. We are very satisfied with this restaurant.