House Speaker John Boehner announced Thursday that he had agreed with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on a two-month extension of a package including a payroll tax cut and an extension of unemployment benefits. Boehner said in statement he and Reid “reached an agreement that will ensure taxes do not increase for working families on January…
Category: News & Opinion
Immigration dragnet snares Americans
A growing number of United States citizens have been detained under Obama administration programs intended to detect illegal immigrants who are arrested by local police. In a spate of recent cases across the country, American citizens have been confined in local jails after federal immigration agents, acting on flawed information from Department of Homeland Security…
New Data: Obamacare Extended Health Coverage To At Least 2.5 Million Young Adults
At least 2.5 million younger Americans now have health insurance as a result of a provision in the Affordable Care Act that allows adults to stay on their parents’ health care plans until 26 years of age, the Associated Press reports. The Obama administration is expected to release additional data later this afternoon: Using unpublished…
New Poll Suggests Latino Voters See ‘Hostile’ GOP
The survey of 500 Latino registered voters found that Hispanics continue to lean toward President Obama and other Democratic candidates, and that they feel alienated by Republicans because of their general support for tougher immigration enforcement instead of a path to legal status. Forty-six percent of Latino voters said Republicans “don’t care too much” about…
Romney Confronted By Gay Vietnam Vet On Same-Sex Marriage Stance
Politicians and journalists always run a risk when they judge a voter strictly on on appearances. There was a reminder of that Monday when Mitt Romney was forced to defend his opposition to gay marriage during a restaurant encounter with a grizzled Vietnam veteran who happened to be gay. As it turned out the vet,…
Study: Health reform will not overwhelm Colorado’s medical system
Though Colorado will add 510,000 to insurance rolls under health care reform, the state will need far fewer new doctors than previously thought, in part because those patients will be shifting from emergency rooms and other existing care, a report says. Even with that many newly insured, Colorado will need only about 141 new doctors,…
Berwick: Don’t Blame Medicare, Medicaid. It’s The Delivery System
Berwick said the 2010 federal health law is changing how doctors and hospitals are paid and deliver care though such new arrangements as accountable care organizations, which are designed to improve coordination and lower costs. But he said it is unclear whether such efforts would produce results quickly enough to hold off critics, including most…
No Driver’s License? We’re Taking Your Kids.
For instance, at the June hearing that terminated the Mendez’s parental rights, they were peppered with seemingly irrelevant questions about their English-speaking ability and immigration status. “Describe for the court why even three years after [the children went into the state’s custody] you cannot speak English without an interpreter,” asked Bruce Kling, special assistant attorney…
Meet the Obese, Uninsured, Unemployed, Cigarette Smoking Plaintiff Suing to Strike Down Health Care Reform
Ms. Brown, 56 years old, had health-care insurance for herself and her husband several years ago but dropped it because the $1,100-a-month cost was prohibitive, she said in an interview. Referring to the health overhaul, she said: “No one has the right to try to control how you spend your money.” When the…
Raise Taxes on Rich to Reward True Job Creators
I’m a very rich person. As an entrepreneur and venture capitalist, I’ve started or helped get off the ground dozens of companies in industries including manufacturing, retail, medical services, the Internet and software. I founded the Internet media company aQuantive Inc., which was acquired by Microsoft Corp. in 2007 for $6.4 billion. I was also…
Wisconsin Gov. Wants Protesters To Pay For Security
Yesterday, the Walker administration took a step that is likely to antagonize protesters further. His administration enacted new regulations that would require permits to protest at the Capitol and other state buildings. The controversial part is that the bill allows officials to charge groups for the security and clean-up costs of such events. The Milwaukee…
Ohio Gov: “I don’t read newspapers”
Ohio Gov. John Kasich R said on Monday he “very rarely” reads newspapers.”You should know, I dont read newspapers in the state of Ohio. Very rarely do I read a newspaper,” he said during a speech in Columbus. “Because just like I think presidents have done in the past, reading newspapers does not give you…
“Repeat violent offenders get to walk while casual pot smokers get terrorized by SWAT teams”
A year and a half ago she was beaten by a neighborhood thug outside of a city bar. It took months of do-it-yourself sleuthing, a meeting with a city alderman and a public shaming in a community newspaper before the Chicago Police Department would pay any attention to her. About a year later, Shaver got…
“We are just not going to allow a tent city. Just period.” – UC Davis Blames Violence on Budget
On Friday, a group of University of California, Davis students, part of the Occupy Wall Street movement on campus, became the latest victims of alleged police brutality to be captured on video. The videos show the students seated on the ground as a UC Davis police officer brandishes a red canister of pepper spray, showing…
So Fla’s Secret Private Prison
In one of South Floridas upscale, rural enclaves, where peacocks roam and horse trails are as common as sidewalks, town leaders decided to bring in much of their money from an unusual business: a prison. Only the leaders of Southwest Ranches kept their plans quiet from residents for almost a decade, and the project has…
Arizona Supreme Court Overturns Gov. Jan Brewer’s Removal Of Redistricting Chair
The Arizona Supreme Court dealt Republican Gov. Jan Brewer a blow Thursday, overturning her decision to oust the chairwoman of the state’s independent redistricting commission. The Arizona Republic reported that the court found that Brewer’s removal of Colleen Coyle Mathis did not meet state constitution guidelines. Brewer removed Mathis on Nov. 2, with…
Police: 177 Occupy Wall Street protesters arrested
At least 177 people have been arrested during clashes between police and Occupy Wall Street demonstrators in New York City, part of a day of mass gatherings in response to efforts to break up Occupy Wall Street camps nationwide. Thousands of protesters took to the streets around the U.S., including Los Angeles, Dallas, Portland,…
Scalia and Thomas dine with healthcare law challengers as court takes case
The lawyer who will stand before the court and argue that the law should be thrown out is likely to be Paul Clement, who served as U.S. solicitor general during the George W. Bush administration. Clement’s law firm, Bancroft PLLC, was one of almost two dozen firms that helped sponsor the annual dinner…
Taking Attendance With Elizabeth Warren
Is consumer advocate and Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren the biggest rock star candidate in the 2012 Senate races? Judging by the turnout at her campaign events, the answer so far, is yes. Warren has been slammed by Republicans as the hand-picked candidate of the national Democrats and a carpetbagger from Oklahoma. But a glance at…
Scores arrested as police clear NY Occupy camp
Hundreds of police officers, some in riot gear, descended on Zuccotti Park after midnight Tuesday in a surprise sweep of the Occupy Wall Street headquarters. Some protesters were chained to trees and each other but were nevertheless removed from the park, which was cleared in less than three hours in what appeared to…