USA-Democrats duck tough choices; Republicans lack credibility.
The good news about the federal budget is — well, there isn’t any good news. The less-bad news is that the deficit for the year that ended Sept. 30 came in lower than forecast. Big deal. At $1.4 trillion, the red ink was stunningly large, the largest deficit ever [...]

What should America do?
WP-In 1982, a Pakistani military C-130 left the western Chinese city of Urumqi with a highly unusual cargo: enough weapons-grade uranium for two atomic bombs, according to accounts written by the father of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program, Abdul Qadeer Khan, and provided to The Washington Post.
The uranium transfer in five stainless-steel [...]

I agree!
HP-During a relatively unnoticed speech in early November, former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said he found it “deplorable” and “shameful” that his fellow Republicans were attacking the president for even the most trivial or well-intentioned matters.
Appearing before the Hudson Union Society to discuss his forthcoming book, “A Simple Christmas”, Huckabee took umbrage with the [...]

Interesting point!
HP….Obama has talked about the need for an exit strategy before, dating back at least to a “60 Minutes” interview in March, during the rollout of his initial Afghan plan. He made the point pretty emphatically: “There’s gotta be an exit strategy.”
Up until a few months ago, Obama evidently thought he had one. Presumably, [...]

By Jack E. Lohman
Unfortunately, still with the politicians, and that’s not good. They have it so screwed up it’s pathetic. It is a $500 billion giveaway to the insurance industry at the expense of the public.
The best thing the politicians could do is kill everything in Congress and start from scratch.
But this time, instead of [...]

Who runs America?
Politico-Top industry executives piled into Google’s Silicon Valley headquarters over the weekend to hear California’s Barbara Boxer, New Mexico’s Jeff Bingaman and other Democratic senators discuss some of the most pressing policy issues on Capitol Hill.
The price of admission: $5,000 to $30,400, made payable to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
For those [...]

Good idea,why not?
AJC-Within two months, Woodstock residents and others receiving some city benefits will have to show that they are legal U.S. residents.
The Woodstock City Council Monday night okayed participation in the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program. Under the state legislature-mandated program, city manager Jeff Moon said, applicants for city licenses [...]

What do you think?
HP-In a boost to the Obama administration’s efforts to frame health care reform as an economic boon, a group of 20 health economists sent a letter to the White House on Tuesday touting the fiscal results of passing reform legislation.
The group lists four specific elements of reform as crucial to controlling costs [...]

Good or bad idea?
TheHill-Congressional Democrats want struggling workers and homeowners to receive money from the $700 billion Wall Street bailout.
That conflicts with the Obama administration’s idea of dedicating some of the money toward reducing the deficit.
The calls from Capitol Hill to change course on the controversial one-year-old bank bailout, officially known as [...]

What do you think?
NPR-Until earlier this month, Rhode Island was the only place in the country where prostitution was legal across an entire state — because of an unintended loophole in the law. But the move to close that loophole is fueling concerns that victims of the sex trade are being put at [...]

What do you think?
USA-Public financing of elections purges the urge to reward donors.
When it came out last month that seven members of a key House committee were under scrutiny by ethics investigators, House leaders were outraged.
Not about the clear implication of the inquiry — that defense contracts are for sale. The leaders were [...]

Big Pharma Promises To Save Government $8 Billion, But Not Before Raising Prices By $10 Billion?
NYT-Even as drug makers promise to support Washington’s health care overhaul by shaving $8 billion a year off the nation’s drug costs after the legislation takes effect, the industry has been raising its prices at the fastest rate in years.
In [...]

CNN-Twenty-two-year-old Nathan Halbach is dying of brain cancer and may only have weeks to live. The priest who celebrated Nathan’s baptism is still around, but he won’t be presiding over Halbach’s funeral. That priest is Nathan’s dad.
It turns out Father Henry Willenborg really is a father, but a secret one. When his son, Nathan, was [...]

So says former fundamentalist leader Frank Schaeffer (interview video below).
He references a Christian Science Monitor article reporting that a new religious right bumper sticker gaining popularity says: “Pray for Obama: Psalm 109:8″. Psalm 109:8 reads: “Let his days be few; and let another take his office.” THE NEXT VERSE READS: “Let his children be [...]