Rep. Jason Chaffetz said on CNN that Americans may have to choose between paying for an iPhone and paying for health insurance. Once again we have a Republican politician blaming the working class for our failed health-care system.
Category: Opinion
We can’t rest on substance abuse
Though they disagree strongly about many aspects of government spending, the vast majority of West Virginia legislators, both Republicans and Democrats, understand one thing: The state is broke. Any thought of new spending had better be based on real necessity.
Ramadan: Trump has fresh opportunity to revisit Virginia’s energy potential
Ramadan is a former Republican member of the House of Delegates from Loudoun County.
Matt Johnson: Trump tweets and outrage fatigue
A week ago, I noticed an unusually introspective headline on MSNBC: “Should Dems worry about Trump outrage fatigue?” After writing thousands of words about Trump over the past few months, I confess that the prospect of contributing to a general sense of “outrage fatigue” occasionally bothers me.
Government hides more and more, and taxpayers pay in many ways | Editorial
California law requires public records to be made promptly available, and allows 10 days to respond in certain situations, plus another 14 for more limited circumstances. In practice, the process can take longer, U-T Watchdog found in a project to mark the nationwide open government event known as Sunshine Week .
Editorial Roundup: Excerpts from recent editorials
President Trump’s Twitter rants are rather like magical pixie dust – they obscure real controversies, like possible links between Trump campaign officials and the Russian government, and change the conversation. President Trump’s Twitter rants are rather like magical pixie dust – they obscure real controversies, like possible links between Trump campaign officials and the Russian government, and change the conversation.
United front needed on ESL funding
During his State of the City address at the Brandon Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Thursday, Mayor Rick Chrest offered listeners in the business-friendly room an enlightened statement. While “nameless” countries are not being so friendly to immigrants right now, he said, the city of Brandon was a welcoming place, that would take those fleeing these locales with “open arms.”
4 takeaways from demonstration
The anti-Trump protest on Feb. 23 in front of Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger’s office in Ottawa brought about 100 protesters, most of them progressives but a few tea party and pro-life folks as well. – There’s no evidence of outside money.
Budget blunder: Proposed cuts would imperil Great Lakes restoration efforts
And, just like all his predecessors did, he needs money to carry out his plans. So begins the process of finding what can be cut and what must be salvaged.
Editorial: Headless policy on driverless cars
Interpret that to mean a field day for Republicans determined to gut everything from environmental protection to rules that might keep banks and telemarketers from ripping you off. The coming slash-and-burn is one reason the GOP puts up with Trump, who party leaders gleefully hope will carry out their crusade against regulations, which they castigate as “job-killers” and impediments to business.
Sandy proved stakes higher so Army studying new reality
Coastal storms like Hurricane Sandy aren’t new, but what is new are the stakes. Today we have more development and people living on our coast.
LETTERS: Hard working immigrants; Frontier flights in the Springs
I wonder when I hear people talk negatively about refugees and immigrants – why? Here in Colorado Springs we have experienced several natural disasters in the past few years. Fire, hail and windstorms have caused much damage to our homes.
Trump’s better ban
As written, the old order banned travel into the United States by citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries, even if they had green cards. The administration backed down from that quickly, but didn’t change the text of the order.
Marijuana crackdown is so yesterday
We’re disappointed that White House press secretary Sean Spicer recently said “greater enforcement” of federal drug laws, including prohibition of marijuana, is coming. “There’s a federal law that we need to abide by when it comes to recreational marijuana and other drugs of that nature,” he said.
Enslaving debt has soared to almost $20 trillion
Within 40 days our national debt is likely to be $20 trillion; four of which is from eight years of George W. Bush and 10 from eight years of Barack Obama – the two biggest spending presidents in U.S. history. Obama alone accumulated more debt than all previous presidents put together.
Cooper’s first budget signals left’s defeat
Roy Cooper has just submitted his first budget proposal as governor of North Carolina. It is a political document – and I don’t mean that as an insult.
Repair, don’t repeal
After years of demanding a nix and a fix of President Obama’s signature legislation on health insurance, a Republican president and Congress are finally getting their chance. House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Trump needs to go back, grab the horse
Last week I poked a little fun at President Donald Trump. Quite frankly, he’s such a fun target I simply can’t resist.
As president, Trump seeks answers on his own wiretap mystery
If Donald Trump wants to know whether he was the subject of surveillance by the U.S. government, he may be uniquely positioned to get an answer. In a series of weekend tweets, the president accused his predecessor, Barack Obama, of ordering wiretaps on his phones but offered no proof to back the claim.
Opinion: Turning a deaf ear
Recently, I’ve developed a crush on Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I love her spunky, “I’ll never die” energy, and the fact that she does not take poop from anyone.
OP-ED: When waiting your turn isn’t an option
Ms. Koelling’s Feb. 27 guest perspective highlights a serious flaw in the arguments against those who support the current administration’s tough stand on immigration. Ms. Koelling chastises those who “willfully and disrespectfully ignore” the laws of our country, and deems it unfair to those immigrants who come here legally and wait their turn.
Our Voice: State health programs need a boost
With a court-ordered deadline looming, lawmakers have had to work their budget proposals around finding a way for the state to meet its constitutional duty to amply fund K-12 schools. This approach, however, risks boosting resources for education at the expense of other essential programs and services.
COMMENTARY: Texas border security spending not necessary
It is well established that the U.S. federal government is primarily responsible for defending our national borders, enforcing immigration laws, and fighting the Mexican drug cartels. Nevertheless, in 2015, the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature approved $800 million for the Texas Department of Public Safety for “border security,” thus creating what many have characterized as the militarization of the Rio Grande Valley.
Goldberg: Low expectations make Trump speech seem like triumph
Donald Trump gave a good speech the other night before a joint session of Congress. It was not, as some commentators have suggested, one of the greatest speeches ever delivered in the halls of the Capitol.
Sen. Portman, do not force devastating changes to Ohio’s Medicaid program: Paul Cain
Victoria Byrd, a medical student, protests last month in Cleveland, calling on Sen. Rob Portman to vote against Affordable Care Act repeal. Today, Paul Cain, who has the genetic disorder neurofibromatosis type 2, writes that Portman and other Republicans are irresponsible in rushing to repeal the act.
Mar. 5: Dog sleds, Kaepernick and Chase bank
Las Vegas: With increasing public awareness about the treatment and conditions of animals used in various entertainment venues and recreational pastimes, it’s time the Iditarod was exposed for what it is: animal cruelty. Dogs are exploited for monetary gain, which is nothing new.
Nelson Price: Hollywood full of elitist hypocrites
Hollywood recently held its annual self-aggrandizement party, the Academy Awards.
Just another example of the media’s fake news
It also buried the multiple “aggravated felonies” the former soldier from Jamaica had committed which promoted his deportation.
Trump a problematic president so far
We don’t need 100 days to recognize that our president’s problematic behavior indicates tendencies characterized by compulsiveness, phobias and reality association, Webster’s definition of neurosis. Had another Republican presidential candidate run the same anti-establishment, populist campaign for change, that candidate, unlike our abrasive president, would have won both the electoral and national votes.
Trump says Obama wiretapped his phones beforea
Trump accuses Obama of wiretapping him before election The president accuses Obama of Watergate-style tactics. Check out this story on publicopiniononline.com: http://usat.ly/2lpCpfy President Trump, in a Saturday morning tweetstorm , responded to the mounting questions over his ties to Russia by accusing Obama of wiretapping him at Trump Tower just before the November election.
Today in History: March 4, 2017
On March 4, 1917, Republican Jeannette Rankin of Montana took her seat as the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, the same day President Woodrow Wilson took his oath of office for a second term . In 1789, the Constitution of the United States went into effect as the first Federal Congress met in New York.
First House health care votes near, GOP dissenters persist
After seven years of saber-rattling, Republicans seem set to start muscling legislation through Congress reshaping the country’s health care system. Don’t confuse that with GOP unity or assume that success is guaranteed.
Based on photo with Putin, Trump calls Schumer ‘hypocrite’
President Donald Trump, his administration under siege for contacts with Russian officials, is calling for “an immediate investigation” into Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s own ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump’s evidence? A 14-year-old photo of Schumer and Putin holding coffee and doughnuts in a New York City gas station.
The scary guys around the president: Larry Wilson
Six weeks in, the fellow in the White House opted for a short break from manic phase, knowing that doing so would make him look suddenly normal, in a manner of speaking. So he read the speech to Congress as it was written for him, not repeating random words for emphasis at the end of a line more than a dozen or so times.
Editorial: Prison secrets
Canada’s prison system faces a barrage of lawsuits – enough, says the federal prison ombudsman, to keep an entire law firm busy. While that’s surely a burden to Correctional Service Canada and the Department of Justice, the mounting legal actions exact the biggest toll on those who want and deserve answers.
Today in History: March 3, 2017
On March 3, 1931, “The Star-Spangled Banner” became the national anthem of the United States as President Herbert Hoover signed a congressional resolution. In 1887, Anne Sullivan arrived at the Tuscumbia, Alabama, home of Captain and Mrs. Arthur H. Keller to become the teacher for their deaf and blind 6-year-old daughter, Helen.
Visit to new aircraft carrier hones president’s pro-military bona fides
Did you happen to see the video of President Donald Trump’s visit to the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford? It will be the fastest, most capable aircraft carrier in our fleet. In fact, it will be the most muscular ship in the world, and the most expensive, coming in at a cost of $12.9 billion.
Celebrate revolt of state attorneys general
Among the many unintended legacies of Barack Obama, one has gone largely unnoticed: the emergence of a novel form of resistance to executive overreach, a check-and-balance improvised in reaction to his various presidential power grabs. It’s the revolt of the state attorneys general, banding together to sue and curb the executive.
Editorial: Immigrants needed
Chances are you didn’t suffer terribly from the recent Day Without Immigrants, a nationwide strike meant to demonstrate the economic impact of foreign-born workers. Energized by President Donald Trump’s promise to deport millions who live here without permission, immigrants took the day off to march and rally.
The most important word Trump didna t say Tuesday
Trump uttered some 5,000 words and spoke for 60 minutes, but not one of those words was “Russia,” and not one of those minutes was devoted to the so-far-successful effort by our geopolitical adversary to undermine American democracy. The FBI and intelligence community have unanimously charged that Vladimir Putin’s government interfered in the U.S. elections in its successful attempt to get Trump elected.