Browse > Home / Headline Page

Headline Page


  • Pelosi challenger faces uphill fight - John Dennis looks to unseat the Speaker in California's 8th district.
  • Obama trashes insurance companies again in health care speech - Must have an enemy to blame.

  • O Ye of Little Faith: The Secular American Media and Religion - The media have an inadequate understanding of religion. This simple fact is corroborated frequently, as mainstream outlets attempt to illustrate stories, explain religious themes and delve deep into faith-based systems.  Unfortunately, most outlets miss the mark entirely, as journalists do not have proper understanding of the constructs through which they are attempting to report.  As [...]
  • Six Questions to Ask About the Federal Budget -

    One of the biggest problems in getting Americans engaged on the nation's fiscal challenges is that the problem is so hard for most people to get their arms around. The numbers are so huge, the issues so arcane and the problems so daunting that people may get angry about it, but have no idea how to grab onto it.

    That's what makes the approach of the Committee on the Fiscal Future of the United States interesting. Their Choosing the Nation's Fiscal Future report, issued by the National Research Council and the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) today, is about how to control our national debt, already past $12 trillion and threatening to rise to staggering (and dangerous) proportions. Public Agenda is part of the Choosing Our Fiscal Future project with NAPA, working to build a network of citizens who'll get involved in the discussion and work on solutions.

    The nonpartisan committee laid out a goal for a sustainable debt level (keeping it to 60 percent of gross domestic product), four alternative paths for reaching the goal, and six basic questions to ask about any federal budget. The committee argues that if the answers to these questions are "yes," we're at least making progress.

    Here are the questions, taken directly from the report. Consider whether the federal budget meets them now – and more importantly, keep them in mind as new budgets are proposed.

    1. Does the proposed budget include policy actions that start to reduce the deficit in the near future in order to reduce short-term borrowing and long-term interest costs?

    2. Does the proposed budget put the government on a path to reduce the federal debt within a decade to a sustainable percentage of GDP? Given the fiscal outlook and the committee’s analysis of the many factors that affect economic outcomes, the committee believes that the lowest ratio that is economically manageable within a decade, as well as practical and politically feasible, is 60 percent.

    3. Does the proposed budget align revenues and spending closely over the long term?

    4. Does the proposed budget restrain health care cost growth and introduce changes now in the major entitlement programs and in other spending and tax policies that will have cumulative beneficial fiscal effects over time?

    5. Does the budget include spending and revenue policies that are cost-effective and promote more efficient use of resources in both the public and private sectors?

    6. Does the federal budget reflect a realistic assessment of the fiscal problems facing state and local governments?

    This gives the public something they haven't had before: a set of standards for a "good" budget, or at least as good as it can be given the tremendous fiscal challenges we face. If we give the public more tools to measure the problem, and grapple with real solutions, we can get ahead of this challenge – while there's still time.

    To find out more, and to become part of the citizen network working on this issue, visit the Choosing Our Fiscal Future web site, become a Facebook fan, or follow us on Twitter @FiscalFuture.


  • The Good Old Days - Rahm Emanuel and Eric Massa, during the 2006 campaign. (via Political Wire)
  • Polls - Yawn. Republicans lead in gubernatorial races.

  • Today in Medal of Honor history: Bernard F. Fisher - 44 years ago, the US was evacuating personnel from a special operations base in the Battle of A Shau. Major Bernard F. Fisher and other pilots from the 1st Air Commando Squadronwas . When Maj. Dafford "Jump" Myers' A1-E Skyraider was hit and crash-landed, Fisher landed his plane and rescued Myers before the 2,000-strong enemy force could capture or kill him. The Skyraider flown by Fisher was restored and is on display at the Air Force Museum, which I highly recommend everyone take a few days to visit. Fisher's actions made him the Air Force's first Medal of Honor recipient (the Air Force was formed in 1947). His citation can be viewed here. Interestingly enough, a similar event took place during World War II: when flying over Romania, flak damaged Capt. Richard "Dick" Willsie's P-38 Lighting and forced the pilot to crash land. But before enemy soldiers could capture the pilot, Flight Officer Dick Andrews landed his Lightning and rescued Willsie. Remarkably, both Willsie and Andrews were involved in the A Shau rescue.
  • This Week in American Military History - From W. Thomas Smith, Jr.'s series at Human Events: Mar. 8, 1965: The lead elements of 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines begin coming ashore at Da Nang, South Vietnam. Within hours, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines will arrive aboard transport aircraft at the nearby airbase. The Marines of 3/9 and 1/3 – both part of the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade – are the first of America’s ground-combat forces destined for offensive operations against the enemy in Southeast Asia, once again putting teeth in the Marine Corps’ claim that it is “first to fight.” Mar. 9, 1847: Thousands of American soldiers and a company-sized force of Marines (though referred to as a battalion) under the overall command of U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott and “Home Squadron” Commodore David E. Conner begin landing at Collado Beach, Mexico, just south of Vera Cruz. In what will prove to be “a model” for future amphibious operations, the landings are unprecedented: The largest American amphibious operation to date, conducted in less than five hours without a single loss of life. A portion of Conner’s dispatch to the Secretary of the Navy reads: “Gen. Scott has now with him upwards of 11,000 men. At his request, I permitted the Marines of the squadron, under Capt. [Alvin] Edson, to join him, as a part of the 3rd Regiment of artillery. The general-in-chief landed this morning, and the army put itself in motion at an early hour, to form its lines around the city. There has been some distant firing of shot and shells from the town and castle upon the troops as they advanced, but without result.” Though the landings are bloodless, grim fighting will continue in the Mexican-American War. Mar. 9, 1862: In day-two of the now-famous Battle of Hampton Roads (Virginia), the Confederate Navy’s ironclad warship, CSS Virginia (built from the remains of the previously scuttled frigate USS Merrimack) and her Union rival, the also-ironclad USS Monitor, begin exchanging shots in one of history’s first clashes of ironclads. The battle ends in a draw with both vessels inflicting marginal damage on one another before breaking off the fight: Technically it is a tactical victory for Virginia because she has inflicted greater damage on the blockading ships than they on her (Virginia had attacked and destroyed the Union Navy’s wooden warships USS Congress and USS Cumberland the previous day before the arrival of the Monitor). But it may also be seen as a strategic victory for the Union because Virginia fails to break the blockade. The battle however will not be remembered for which side might have carried the day – though that is still being debated – but rather the lessons learned in this particular clash which greatly contributed to the ongoing revolution in Naval tactics and ship-design and construction. Mar. 10, 1783: The Duc De Lauzun, a Continental Navy transport-vessel (laden with Spanish silver currency), and her escort, the frigate Alliance (the first of two so-named American warships), are spotted by three Royal Navy ships – HMS Sybil, HMS Alarm, and HMS Tobago –off Cape Canaveral, Florida. Sybil pursues the two American vessels, fires on the slow-moving Duc De Lauzun, then is aggressively engaged by Alliance. In less than one hour, the badly damaged Sybil disengages and flees, ending the last Naval battle of the American Revolution. Alliance is commanded by Capt. (future commodore) John Barry, who – as we said Feb. 4 – is considered in some circles to be “the Father of the American Navy,” though some would argue that title belongs to Capt. John Paul Jones. Mar. 11, 1862: President Abraham Lincoln – frustrated over Union Army Gen. George B. McClellan’s unwillingness to attack the Confederate Army – relieves McClellan of his post as general-in-chief of the U.S. Army, but keeps him on as commanding general of the Army of the Potomac. McClellan – who will lose his command after failing to destroy Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s wounded army following the Battle of Antietam – becomes the second well-known casualty in Lincoln’s series of firing, hiring, and firing generals until the Union Army (like the already well-commanded Confederate Army) is led by some of the most able generals in American military history. Mar. 11, 1943: “The Flying Tigers” – the famous volunteer group of American fighter pilots contracted to the Chinese Air Force during World War II and ultimately brought under U.S. Army Air Forces command as the China Air Task Force – is absorbed into the 14th Air Force. Commanded by Gen. Claire L. Chennault, “the Flying Tigers” were so-named because of the tiger-shark faces painted on the noses of their P-40 fighters. Today, according to the U.S. Air Force, airmen of the 14th Air Force are “the day-to-day operators of Air Force Space Command's space forces.” And the centerpiece of the 14th Air Force emblem is a tiger with wings.

  • I’m a Feminist! - I believe in equal justice under the law for us human females, a principle that covers a multitude of rights. For example, equal pay for equal work, the right to vote, and the right to live.
  • Bound Ambition - Me and my blog. Oh boy. As I’ve mentioned a few times, I’m writing a novel in the paranormal and Christian genres. I started a year ago, and I’m presently rewriting/revising it. I hope to have it agent-ready by my birthday, May 5. Will I make it? I’ve invested a year writing this story. I’m determined [...]

  • Paul Krugman, Cynthia Tucker, and the unemployment benefits debate, Pt. III - The AJC’s Cynthia Tucker blogged today about a testy exchange we had last summer on ABC’s “This Week” regarding government unemployment benefits and the effect that endless extensions have on reducing the incentive to seek a job. Once again, she mistakes standard economic arguments for moral judgments: “Does the right really believe the unemployed are [...]
  • Obama’s war on fishing?!?!?! - Longtime readers know I love to fish and have been at war with the anti-fishing nuts at PETA for years. JWF flags a story today from ESPN about Obama regulatory maneuvers that look to limit fishing access: The Obama administration will accept no more public input for a federal strategy that could prohibit U.S. citizens from [...]

  • Obamateurism of the Day - Tudors and a Round Table.
  • Quotes of the day - Drive by.

  • Buh-Bye, Walter Cronkite: He Lost the Vietnam War for U.S. on TV, Had American Blood on His Hands - By Debbie Schlussel I just heard the news that former CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite died. And perhaps I will be one of the few with the guts to be real and say it: I'm not sad to see this overrated...
  • Weekend Box Office: Long, Boring "Harry Potter"; Cool "Merry Gentleman" Thriller Flubs the Yarmulke - By Debbie Schlussel My weekend movie reviews: the strange but interesting arthouse thriller beats the much-hyped big box office release for kids, this time. * "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince": Just one word for this--boooooooooring. A giant two-and-a-half-hour YAAAWN....