Millennial Generation - that is the term some are using for the generation of Americans now aged 18 - 29. Here is a report on a new study of this generation.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/video/blog/2010/02/what_is_the_millennial_generat.html
Friday, February 26, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Highlights from the Health Care Summit
From Obama's Opening Remarks:
Republican Senator Lamar Alexander's Opening Remarks:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Republican Senator Lamar Alexander's Opening Remarks:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Obama on areas of bipartisan agreement:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
NBC Evening News Report
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Does Obama's style of persuasion work on members of Congress?
An interesting piece in the NY Times this morning about the successes and failures Obama has had in convincing individual members of Congress to support his program. If he expects to win upcoming battles such as the one on health care, does he need to get tougher?Gentle White House Nudges Test the Power of Persuasion - NYTimes.com
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
PA school using laptop webcams to spy on students?
From the USA Today:
A suburban Philadelphia school district used school-issued laptop webcams to
spy on students at home, potentially catching them and their families in
compromising situations, a family claims in a federal lawsuit.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
What is up with the Tea Party?
The Tea Party, a loosely knit group of people who are fed up with big government, are trying to get more organized in hopes of influencing the 2010 election.(Some affiliated with the group says their name stands for Taxed Enough Already, while others claim the name is a reference to the civil disobedience of the Boston Tea Party of 1773.)
While members of the group don't agree on everything, they held their first ever convention in Nashville recently with Sarah Palin as the headline speaker.
Take a good look at the picture: Is the look of American democracy in the new decade? I'll refrain from making any snarky jokes here, but you may be able to imagine some of my thoughts.
Some info on this group and the impact they are having on politics:
Tea Party Lights Fuse for Rebellion on Right - NYTimes.com
Monday, February 15, 2010
Big Military Offensive in Afghanistan
What has been a Taliban stronghold, the city of Marjah,in the southern province of Helmand, is the target of a joint U.S./Afghan military offensive. While success might mean a major region of the country will be more open to Afghan government services (hopefully winning "hearts and minds" away from the extremists) there are always big risks when the guns and bombs start going off.
Sadly, one such tragedy occurred only three days into this operation as a U.S. missile destroyed a house killing at least 9 civilians.
Sadly, one such tragedy occurred only three days into this operation as a U.S. missile destroyed a house killing at least 9 civilians.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Sunday, February 07, 2010
A Health-Care Summit?
President Obama has called for a televised, bi-partisan, half-day health care summit. Clearly, Obama is trying to move the momentum back toward passage of health care reform after its chances were diminished by Republican Scott Brown becoming the 41st Republican Senator, and making it possible for Republicans to filibuster any health care bill they don't approve of in the Senate.
My first take is that this is a smart move on the part of the Obama Administration. He came off looking very good in his exchange with House Republicans during an hour-long televised Q & A session a week and a half ago. I think the chances of Obama winning over more public support by engaging with Republicans in an open, televised, give-and-take are very good.
We need health care reform to pass, we can't do nothing. It is costing us too much in money and in the quality of life for too many Americans. If Obama can pull of this summit (how can the Republicans really say no?) he will greatly increase the prospects of passage of health care reform legislation.
The President made his invitation in a pre-Super Bowl interview with Katie Couric of CBS News:
Watch CBS News Videos Online
My first take is that this is a smart move on the part of the Obama Administration. He came off looking very good in his exchange with House Republicans during an hour-long televised Q & A session a week and a half ago. I think the chances of Obama winning over more public support by engaging with Republicans in an open, televised, give-and-take are very good.
We need health care reform to pass, we can't do nothing. It is costing us too much in money and in the quality of life for too many Americans. If Obama can pull of this summit (how can the Republicans really say no?) he will greatly increase the prospects of passage of health care reform legislation.
The President made his invitation in a pre-Super Bowl interview with Katie Couric of CBS News:
Watch CBS News Videos Online
Friday, February 05, 2010
Obama wants more civil tone in Washington D.C.
At a National Prayer Breakfast, Obama gave a speech in which he called for a more civil tone in the debates and discussions going on in Washington D.C.
An MSNBC report here.
An MSNBC report here.
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Beginning of the End of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
From the Washington Post:
'Don't ask, don't tell' policy on gays in military to change - washingtonpost.com
From a Congressional Hearing yesterday:
And comments from Former Lt. Daniel Choi, an outspoken and courageous advocate of ending the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
An update - Powell changes his position on DADT
'Don't ask, don't tell' policy on gays in military to change - washingtonpost.com
From a Congressional Hearing yesterday:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
And comments from Former Lt. Daniel Choi, an outspoken and courageous advocate of ending the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
An update - Powell changes his position on DADT
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
An Argument that the Obama Administration is Making a Difference
I found this to be an interesting commentary on a less flashy, but very important aspect of a presidential administration: a reliance on scientific driven regulatory policy instead of ideologically driven policy.The Quiet Revolution | The New Republic
...the old-time progressives who fashioned the regulatory state rested their hopes on what could be called “scientific administration.” Louis Brandeis and Herbert Croly--to name two of the foremost turn-of-the-century progressives--believed that the agencies, staffed by experts schooled in social and natural science and employing the scientific method in their decision-making, could rise above partisanship and interest-group pressure....
Many of the last century’s presidents--from Theodore Roosevelt to Jimmy Carter to Bill Clinton--subscribed to this progressive ideal of regulation based on expertise. But, beginning in the 1980s and culminating in the presidency of George W. Bush, the notion of scientific administration came under attack from Republicans and their allies. They began to subvert the agencies by bringing in business executives, corporate lawyers, and lobbyists--the very opposite of the impartial experts envisioned by Brandeis and Croly.
...Obama’s regulatory appointments could not be more different--no surprise given that he is the son of two social scientists (one of whom attempted to introduce scientific administration to Kenya) and that he once worked in academia himself. Indeed, the flow of expertise into the federal bureaucracy over the past year has been reminiscent of what took place at the start of the New Deal.
Taking apart the federal budget
Probably you have heard that our nation has a big national debt. Yes, we do. If you click on this link, you will see how much money we owe.
The debt is the total of all the money the governnment owes because of all the years in which our government had a deficit - we spent more than was collected in taxes.
Why do we do this? basically because Americans demand a lot from the government but don't want to pay more taxes. There are only two ways to reduce budget deficits, reduce spending or raise taxes. Neither are popular.
So, now that the economy is having lots of trouble and people are hurting, it makes it especially hard to cut government programs or raise taxes.
SO, let's look at the budget that Barack Obama has proposed to Congress for 2011. Look at the following links, and see what you can learn about our federal budget.
First an NBC news report on Obama's budget announcement:
What is in the new federal budget proposed by the Obama Administration?
Taking apart the federal budget (washingtonpost.com)
Will it pass? Congress has to pass the budget each year, and it is a complicated process. Here is an interactive look at the budget process also from the Washington Post.
The New York Times has another way of looking at this in the following interactive graph. It give more info about what each category is all about.
The debt is the total of all the money the governnment owes because of all the years in which our government had a deficit - we spent more than was collected in taxes.
Why do we do this? basically because Americans demand a lot from the government but don't want to pay more taxes. There are only two ways to reduce budget deficits, reduce spending or raise taxes. Neither are popular.
So, now that the economy is having lots of trouble and people are hurting, it makes it especially hard to cut government programs or raise taxes.
SO, let's look at the budget that Barack Obama has proposed to Congress for 2011. Look at the following links, and see what you can learn about our federal budget.
First an NBC news report on Obama's budget announcement:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
What is in the new federal budget proposed by the Obama Administration?
Taking apart the federal budget (washingtonpost.com)
Will it pass? Congress has to pass the budget each year, and it is a complicated process. Here is an interactive look at the budget process also from the Washington Post.
The New York Times has another way of looking at this in the following interactive graph. It give more info about what each category is all about.
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