A watershed moment for U.S. women
This image provided by LEGO shows their Women of NASA set. The set features Sally Ride, the first female astronaut, and Mae Jemison, the first black woman to travel in space and goes on sale Nov. 1, 2017.
Category Archives: Opinion
Senate tax bill throws swamp water on successful Trump economy
Leave it to the Senate to take a flaming hot Trump economy and throw swamp water on it! The booming stock market speaks for itself. President Trump has our economy rolling and now the Senate comes along with "business as usual" tactics to mess things up.
Memo to statehouse Democrats: Do no harm
Democrats had a good election across the U.S. last week. In Washington, voters placed the final brick in a so-called West Coast "blue wall" in Washington, Oregon and California.
Repeal and replace the tax code
Wouldn't it be nice to have a tax code that looked as though it had been designed on purpose? Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., uses charts to contest the Republican version of tax reform, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017. Washington a The Republicans' tax bill would somewhat improve the existing revenue system that once caused Mitch Daniels to say: Wouldn't it be nice to have a tax code that looked as though it had been designed on purpose? Today's bill, which is 429 pages and is apt to grow, is an implausible instrument of simplification.
Kathleen Parker: Republicans, pedophiles and polar bears, oh my
Desperation seems to be driving Republicans this grateful season as they seek to trade polar bears for tax cuts, while fervently praying that former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore didn't do what he's alleged to have done, which might give the U.S. Senate another Democratic vote. The race is on to pass tax reform before Dec. 12, when Alabama will select a new senator to fill the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Editorial: A tax increase conservatives love
When Kansas families purchase groceries, they're paying a higher sales tax than anyone else in the country. According to the Tax Foundation, Kansas is one of seven states that taxes groceries at the same rate as other purchases - a particularly hefty burden considering our overall sales tax rate of 6.5 percent.
Keep Klenzak in mind this Veterans Day
The purpose of Veterans Day is to pay tribute to the military personnel, both living and dead, who served so selflessly to preserve America's status as the Land of the Free. Today is Veterans Day 2017, and the first such day in many decades where Leonard Klenzak cannot be counted among the living vets.
Stances on election results interesting
Editor: I have made a habit of getting my "news" from as many different sources as possible. I frame my opinion by sorting through other viewpoints doing my best to separate fact from fiction.
Forget CNN, reject merger
There are many fine reasons for the Department of Justice to act against the impending $85 billion merger of AT&T and Time Warner. It would further tighten corporate control of internet, cable and telecommunications at a time when less consolidation is needed to ensure diversity and access.
Courtright hangs on; city propels Powell
Newly elected Lackawanna County District Attorney Mark Powell embraces a supporter along side his wife Donna on Tuesday night at Nosh in Dickson City. Butch Comegys / Staff Photographer Facing stiff Republican opposition, Democrats Bill Courtright and Mark Powell won their elections where Democrats still rule.
What’s at stake with Roy Moore
Before Thursday's published accusations of sexual misconduct against Republican Roy Moore went public, Alabama's Dec. 12 Senate election was lathered in political gains and long-range implications. That Election Day stress is now off-the-charts high.
Senate tax plan sprinkles SALT in Illinois taxpayers’ wounds
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, speak to reporters as work gets underway on the Senate's version of the GOP tax reform bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Nov. 9, 2017 Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, speak to reporters as work gets underway on the Senate's version of the GOP tax reform bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Nov. 9, 2017 The tax-overhaul plan introduced Thursday by U.S. Senate Republicans threatens to hit middle- and upper-middle-income Illinois residents particularly hard.
OP-ED | Are All Politics National, Now?
It happens every municipal election cycle. Everyone drags out the mystic runes and Ouija boards to try and divine what it all means for the next state and federal elections.
Cynicism deserved for both parties
Turmoil has been the order of the day among leaders of both the Republican and Democratic parties.
The D.C. circus
Voters have been disgusted with the bickering, partisan debate-fearing Congress long enough.
Voices Reform plans are up in the air – ” and so are tax pros
As it has so often in the past, Congress is making the end of the year difficult for accountants and tax practitioners, dragging tax legislation out to the last minute with a maximum of confusion and a minimum of advanced warning. The simultaneous release on Thursday of the Senate's proposals for tax reform and the House Ways and Means Committee's markup of an earlier House bill may bring the tax reform process closer to some kind of end, but they provide few, if any, actionable items for tax professionals to bring to their clients, and in fact may end up threatening the entire reform effort.
Glass Full, Glass Empty
Two years ago, Sonoma toddler Jack Yankee was the recipient of an outpouring of community goodwill and support when the little tyke battled a rare auto-immune disease via a bone-marrow transplant. Now, in the aftermath of the October fires, Jack's mom - who operates Woodfield Properties vacation rentals - announced "it's our turn to help out."
Lessons from the blue wave
The pundits and the analysts will have a field day figuring out what just happened on Tuesday night, when Democrats won handily in off-year elections. So handily that the vote is being called a "wave" election, the sort that results in power changing hands on a large scale.
Four Observations From Week Nine Of The NFL Season
Week nine of the NFL season came to an end last night after the Detroit Lions thrashed the Green Bay Packers, and there's plenty to discuss. Matthew Stafford and company looked impressive, aside from a few occasions of sloppy ball protection.
Democrat and ex-CIA: Trump needs to focus on Making America Feel Good Again or he’s out in 2020
Democrat and ex-CIA: Trump needs to focus on Making America Feel Good Again or he's out in 2020 A year ago, some 63 million Americans elected Donald Trump to serve as the nation's 45th president. Few anticipated his improbable success when he launched his campaign.