If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Republicans have shown time and again they don't play fair even when they lose popular vote elections and have much closer electoral accomplishments. With Obama's clear victory, he might well learn a lesson from them on how to govern.
Calm yourselves, kiddies, it's not really a cliff. More of a slim slope or bit of a ditch. A minor incline. It's an artificial crisis. Something our country's politicians specialize in.
Nothing is official, of course. Lots of details to be worked out, and all that. Maybe it will still fall apart. But if this is the outline of the deal...
Yes, we now all seem to know that there is a real deadline with potentially serious consequences. However, as we approach that so-called 'cliff', we now hear some murmurs about "well maybe we have to go off the cliff -- a little bit? -- to test the waters." What is the matter with us?
Eight U.S. Senators today sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan calling on him to investigate tactics used by some major for-profit colleges to circumvent rules aimed at reducing student loan defaults.
12/12/12 was the Feast Day of "Our Lady of Guadalupe" celebrated by millions who pray for God's grace of reconciliation and salvation. The symbol of Our Lady of Guadalupe links together politics, family, religion, colonial past and independent present.
Is John Boehner just worried about his leadership position? Is he really putting his own re-election as Speaker of the House before all else? Here are Boehner's major possible routes out of the fiscal cliff discussions, in chronological order.
Who remembers what the naked protesters were protesting? When you work on Capitol Hill, you get used to being protested. During my ten years there, I was yelled at, sworn at and spit on.
While there's no question an agreement will require significant spending cuts, there is one health care cut under consideration that should be taken off the table to ensure access to care for traditionally underserved urban, low-income communities: a Medicare funding cut to hospital outpatient clinics.
When people say that we need a "balanced approach" to reducing our debt and being fiscally responsible, what I hear is: We need to balance what is good for the whole country with what is good for a few super wealthy and powerful people.
It was a time of high budget deficits and extensive partisanship. The President and House Speaker came from different parties, and did not see eye-to-eye on fiscal policy. The challenges looked grim and difficult to resolve. Sound familiar?
While the semantics of the debate seem purely political, I wondered about the actual implications of an increase in tax rates.
Will the GOP avoid the electoral cliff by shunning extremists and acknowledging climate change? Unlikely, say Ron Reagan and Wayne Barrett, since the 2016 nominee has to get through the secessionist South. And will Obama be remembered as the first black president or a great one?
I'm still amused when I read or hear people talk about how both parties are separated by ideology with Democrats wanting big government while Republicans are for smaller government.
