From NEWSMAX / AP: Democrats on Tuesday lamented Sen. Ben Nelson’s decision to retire rather than seek a third term in Nebraska, fearing the move sets up Republicans for an easy and crucial victory in their effort to reclaim control of the chamber next year. Nelson, the lone Democrat in Nebraska’s five-member congressional delegation, faced […]
Month: December 2011
Major health care changes took effect in 2011
From USA TODAY: ….In 2011, the [Affordable Care Act] targeted specific groups of people — mostly the young and senior citizens — while the most argued about pieces won’t come until 2014. Then, assuming the Supreme Court doesn’t rule against the “individual mandate,” the provision that requires most Americans to buy health insurance…
Obama in fresh move to fill Fed seats
From the FINANCIAL TIMES: President Barack Obama has made a fresh attempt to fill vacant positions on the board of the US Federal Reserve, nominating candidates with Republican and Democratic affiliations in an apparent attempt to neutralise resistance in Congress. The White House said on Tuesday that it would propose Jay Powell, a former executive […]
Favor a partisan primary election
By Randolph Carney I don’t mean to comment on the merits of [ “Let voters determine primaries not political parties”], instead I would like to discuss what this would mean for candidates. Having dabbled a bit in the local political arena, the biggest issue for any candidate is name recognition. This is the very reason […]
Obama less liberal than Eisenhower and Nixon
The Republican party of 30 years ago was far more practical, pragmatic, and realistic than what is being passed off as Republican today. For the record, I was registered Republican for a decade starting in the early 1970s. As the 80s progressed, my conscience convinced me to change my party affiliation to Democratic. It wasn’t […]
Gorbachev and the Struggle for Democracy
By Jeffrey Sachs From the HUFF POST: …I watched Gorbachev’s actions up close during this historic period. During 1989-91, I was a senior economic advisor to several post-communist governments in Central and Eastern Europe. In country after country, it was Gorbachev himself who told his communist counterparts that their era of political monopoly was over, […]
Let voters determine primaries, not political parties
From the HARRISBURG PATRIOT-NEWS: Pennsylvania’s Democratic and Republican party voters should decide statewide primaries, not party bosses, according to unaffiliated pressure groups that have badgered party leaders this year. Republican insurgents argue that the practice of endorsing primary candidates takes the choice away from voters. Democrat dissidents have stalled a move by party leaders to […]
Starbucks: Big name, mediocre quality
Apart from the excellent if somewhat over priced coffee and the sociable environment , the Watchdog has never encountered much to admire about Starbucks. The usually pre-frozen pastries are overly sweet and there are few health conscience selections. The oatmeal, made with water, has to be camouflaged with raisins, nuts and brown sugar to become barely […]
Cash tolls on Turnpike to climb another 10%
From the PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE: …The toll increase that took effect last January — 10 percent for cash customers and 3 percent for E-ZPass — made the Pennsylvania Turnpike the nation’s most expensive long toll road per mile. But it will lose that status on Sunday, when the New Jersey Turnpike implements a 53 percent toll increase…
Federal workers starting at much higher pay
From USA TODAY: …A 20- to 24-year-old auto mechanic started at an average of $46,427 this year, up from $36,750 five years ago. The government hires about 400 full-time auto mechanics a year. A 30- to 34-year-old lawyer started at an average of $101,045 this year, up from $79,177 five years ago. The government hires […]
In forthcoming memoir, Arlen Specter reveals turmoil beneath exterior
From the HARRISBURG POST-GAZETTE: …Mr. Specter says Mr. Reid assured him that, upon switching caucuses, he would retain the decades of seniority that boosted his influence on powerful committees such as Judiciary and Appropriations, and, with it, one of the more powerful arguments for his re-election.
Afghanistan Agrees To Peace Talks With Taliban
From the HUFF POST: KABUL – Afghanistan will accept a Taliban liaison office in Qatar to start peace talks but no foreign power can get involved in the process without its consent, the government’s peace council said, as efforts gather pace to find a solution to the decade-long war. Afghanistan’s High Peace Council, in a […]
Republican Party rabidly ideological
…I think that the accusation of the Republican Party representing business interests is yesterday’s news. The elements currently controlling the Republican Party have driven it so far off the rails that the party is now in many cases voting against the interests of their donors. The Republican Party has reached a new level of insanity. […]
Siobhan Reynolds, a true hero, RIP
From THE AGITATOR: I’m saddened to learn this morning that Siobhan Reynolds died over the weekend in a plane crash. I met Reynolds several years ago when I attended a forum on Capitol Hill on the under-treatment of pain. Her story about her husband’s chronic pain was so heartbreaking it moved me to take an interest in the issue.