This below raises issues concerning the trend in relationships between the sexes and future formations of families. The Watchdog is no sociologist. But, at 74, he has observed changes in sexual mores over many decades.

Let’s start with the federal study on youths and sex that was widely publicized this past week:

From AOL: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that Al Jazeera is gaining more prominence in the U.S. because it offers “real news” — something she said American media were falling far short of doing. “Viewership of Al Jazeera is going up in the United States because it’s real news,” Clinton said…

From NEWSMAX: House Speaker John Boehner declares that President Barack Obama’s decision not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court is “outrageous” and vows that Republicans will intervene in the next few days. Appearing on Greta Van Susteren’s Fox News Channel show on Wednesday night, Boehner was asked whether the GOP planned to hire a special counsel to “do the job that the executive branch won’t do.”

From the FINANCIAL TIMES: New claims for jobless benefits in the US fell to the lowest level since 2008 last week, offering evidence that a labour market recovery is solidifying. Initial jobless claims fell by 20,000 to 368,000, the labour department said on Thursday…

In 1956, during the second Eisenhower administration, the people of Hungary revolted against their Soviet oppressors, in part stirred on by incitements from John Foster Dulles, the US secretary of state. Yet when Soviet troops entered Hungary to suppress the uprising, the US was unable to do anything tangible to assist the Hungarians and the revolt was crushed.

From the PATRIOT-NEWS: Although there is a great deal of disagreement about the tax code, American taxpayers at least expect that the laws that are on the books are actually enforced — we expect everyone to be treated fairly. A sale is a sale. It’s only fair that a seller is held accountable for their legally owed taxes — what does it matter if it’s done online or off-line?

From the HUFFINGTON POST: The chairmen of the bipartisan Commission on Wartime Contracting decried on Monday a federal system that has allowed contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan to commit fraud — then get hired again and again. “For the 200,000 people employed by contractors to provide support and capability in Iraq and Afghanistan, accountability is too often absent, diluted, delayed, or avoided…”

If there were ever a doubt about whether the editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, is a journalist, recent events erase all those doubts and put him at the forefront of a movement to democratize journalism and empower people.

From USA TODAY: Nearly a decade ago, responding to a raft of financial scandals at Enron, WorldCom and other companies, the Justice Department sent dozens of executives to prison and even put a major accounting firm out of business. Now, after a far larger economic meltdown, it looks increasingly likely that no big name will be criminally prosecuted.

“Any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should ‘have his head examined,’ as General [Douglas] MacArthur so delicately put it.”

From the DRUG WAR CHRONICLE: In a notice dated last Friday, but posted in the Federal Register Wednesday, US Surgeon General Regina Benjamin has determined that needle exchange programs constitute a form of drug treatment, which means that NEPS can qualify for funding under the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment block grant programs.