Horrible, the loss of three innocent lives in the Boston bombing! Then what word could one use to express the fact that between 158,000 and 202,000 civilians have died as a result of the ongoing conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan? It is understandable that the attack in Boston is a national tragedy for the United States. Our sympathies and prayers go out to the victims. But why is it that the loss of innocent lives in the Middle East has been hardly worthy of a second thought, if any, on our part?

Once again it happens with sickening suddenness — a jolting shock that alters and cruelly mocks our assumption of “normalcy.”

“A group of parents in petitioning Mesa Schools to give teachers a raise. The average teaching salary in MPS is $54,398. If teachers can’t figure out how to live on a salary that is nearly double the average salary for the general population of Mesa, how are they smart enough to teach children?”

The Obama administration seems to have gone Jack Bauer on us, which would be okay if we were just talking about non-American enemy combatants on some far-flung battlefield. It seems the administration danced its way around case law and the Constitution in an attempt to justify the assassination of three American citizens it refuses to acknowledge it had any part of, post execution.

One of three Americans killed in a raid by Al Qaida in Algeria called the Valley home for many years.

Until the very end, she is described as "The Girl."

With dark shadows of uncertainty descending upon the hearts of so many at the conclusion of 2012, one can only hope 2013 will be a year of promise. But even in these dark days, miracles do still happen, especially when people are willing to roll up their sleeves for the cause of freedom.

The only thing more unlikely than a movie about a boy adrift on a ship with a Bengali tiger is the tale of the film's star.

In 1691, the first Thanksgiving, where the protestant pilgrims thanked their Lord, Jesus Christ, for giving them a bountiful harvest, began. That could never happen today.

"Life of Pi" is one of those lyrical, internalized novels that should have no business working on the screen. Quite possibly, it wouldn't have worked if anyone but Ang Lee had adapted it.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — President Barack Obama sharply challenged Mitt Romney on foreign policy in their final campaign debate Monday night, accusing him of "wrong and reckless leadership that is all over the map." The Republican coolly responded, "Attacking me is not an agenda" for dealing with a dangerous world.

In these days when American political partisans are obsessed with making sure their political team wins, and when Justin Bieber’s hair is the subject of thousands of well-read articles on Google, politics and celebrity are momentarily overshadowed elsewhere by the tale of a brave Pakistan girl whose only wish was to go to school — and is battling for her life because of it.

The letter authored by Edward F. Murphy took my breath. It is rare to see such open hostility on the printed page. I can only assume that Mr. Murphy is the epitome of righteousness who has never transgressed his own moral values. If that is true, he is himself not a hypocrite. If not, he should be ashamed.

EDITOR'S NOTE _ An occasional look at political claims that take shortcuts with the facts or don't tell the full story

Why are the American people being fed nothing but lies about the Benghazi, Libya Embassy Attack and the murder of Ambassador Chris Stevens? Obama’s UN Ambassador Susan Rice was all over the news programs spouting the Administration’s lie about the Benghazi Embassy attack being “spontaneous,” brought about “solely” to protest the latest anti-Islam “home movie.”

WASHINGTON — Middle East violence is shaking up a presidential race that otherwise looks stubbornly stable, and tight. President Barack Obama holds a tiny edge, Republican Mitt Romney is seeking a breakthrough message, and three debates are ahead in the campaign's final seven weeks.

Do you know Scott Dickinson? Richard Rivera? How about Greg Buckley? Matt Manoukian? Heard of Ryan Jeschke? Sky Mote? Ever run across Greg Trent? What about Tom Kennedy? Did you meet Kevin Griffin? Bump into Walt Gray? How about Ethan Martin, Clayton Beauchamp, or Dan Linnabary?

OAK CREEK, Wis. (AP) — An unidentified gunman killed six people at a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee on Sunday in a rampage that left terrified congregants hiding in closets and others texting friends outside for help. The suspect was killed outside the temple in a shootout with police officers.

WASHINGTON - The FBI and local law enforcement say they have found no indication that the recent shootings at a suburban Denver movie theater were anything but the acts of a lone wolf without any apparent political or terrorist ties.

Let’s simplify it:

One year after the U.S. assassination of Osama bin Laden, I’m concerned that our government is still pursuing the same failed war strategy in Afghanistan based on bringing “peace” through fighting and war.

Thanks so much for printing Michelle Dillard’s response to my letter of April 11, 2012 regarding allowing business owners to limit their employees’ health insurance based on the owner’s religious beliefs. It is nice to know that someone reads my letters. Unfortunately, it is sad that Ms. Dillard did not comprehend my comments. She offers rebuttals to positions I never took and arguments I never made.

The upcoming election is about Ann Romney, the First Lady Michelle Obama, you, my wife, and every woman in the United States who might lose their rights of choice if the GOP have their way in 2012. This fight isn’t about contraception, Ms. Turley-Hansen, it’s about a woman’s, and eventually everyone’s, right to make any decision for herself/themselves going forward in the future.

In her letter defending the right of employers to withhold certain health insurance benefits, Charlotte Ralstin (April 1) states: “The idea that any employer would be forced to pay for something that goes against his moral objections is not only reprehensible but goes against the very fiber of this country.”