About a week ago,  Texas Republicans had a good idea – yeah, it’s been known to happen.
That’s when U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert introduced House Resolution 1297, the “Ensuring Pay for Our Military Act.” It now …

After a few hours this morning of watching various channels for word on the budget the way he usually watches for news from Iraq, Afghanistan or Libya, Dad had had enough. “Whatever happens will happen,” …

For years Russian was the only foreign language taught at the high school I eventually attended. To my knowledge, no one during that era grew up and defected to the Soviet Union.
I took three years …

There’s a heaping helping of irony in the fact that Saturday’s assassination attempt on an Arizona congresswoman by a man associates say is “very disturbed” has forced the right into the same box Muslims have …

Note to Sara Palin: Michelle Obama is free to stop by my house any evening and tell my kids they can’t have dessert. After seven-plus years of this war, I’m battle fatigued. Michelle would probably …

Gen. David Petraeus spoke out against his plans yesterday, and I tweeted a link to the story.
That’s the last  you’ll hear from me about the deranged “minister” in Florida who seems to have captured the …

It was more than 20 years ago when I met U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, but I recall two things vividly about that day.
The first was how ill at ease he appeared at what was …

It’s kind of ironic, given that John McCain was the subject of the original birther lawsuit, that Arizona is like a pit bull after a steak when the citizenship at issue is Barack Obama’s.
Or not …

How nice it must be to have all the answers – even if the answers keep changing when the question is whether to extend unemployment benefits.
At least unemployed workers are no longer lazy – apparently …

A couple of salient points in the hoo-ha coming today from those who lost the health care fight:
Not all Americans hate the new law. More people think it will help than think it will hurt. …

Life was so much simpler when I was in school. History texts focused on presenting facts – and back then, a fact was a fact was a fact.
Today, though, there are some who think the …

Where does “protest” end and “publicity stunt” begin?
With PETA and its propensity to station costumed characters in high-traffic public places – always making sure the media are aware of the big news- it’s hard to …

It’s not quite the east coast and west coast rappers sitting down over tea and crumpets, but when three manufacturing rivals get together for a joint project, it’s big news.
Except in the case of the …

A recent Rasmussen Poll found that 63 percent of the country believes we’d be better off if most of Congress were re-elected.
Granted, Scott Rasmussen has worked on Republican campaigns before and some question whether the …

You have to wonder if the fumes from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s famous cigar patio are starting to affect his thinking.
Why else would someone who for years has battled California’s wacky budget process suggest making the …

It’s amusing, in a “fiddling while Rome burns” sort of way, to see how public officials flock to the freebies like hogs to slop – and then fail to report the corporate largess that’s showered …

It’s kind of awkward that the Federal Trade Commission wants the health-care bill to include a ban on settlements between drug companies that keep generic drugs off the market – delays the commission says costs …

It’s the type of meaningless legislation that usually draws scant attention beyond the members of the team being honored or the local luminary being recognized.
Except this time, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II’s resolution backing the designation …

What would it be worth to you to stop swine flu from spreading? Would $290 a week be too much of an investment?
That’s how much it would cost to let a minimum-wage worker stay home …

It took me a while, but I finally figured out where I’d previously seen the scam the drug companies are trying to pull off on health care reform.
It was about this time last year, at …

Quickly after the covert tape-recording habits of those in Attorney General Jerry Brown’s office came to light, his apologists  began trying to recast state privacy law.
An interview? Oh, that’s not a confidential communication. It was …

Anyone know of a nice third-party candidate – preferably one with a boatload of money, a bit of a political pedigree and at record of having voted before the turn of the century – who …

I understand Republicans a little less every day.
Government-funded public health insurance: Bad. It’ll blow up the budget.
The stimulus bill and its middle-class tax cuts: Evil.  No need to fritter away money unless we’re throwing it …

Whatever chance former eBay exec Meg Whitman has of getting my vote for governor dwindled to zero this week with her series of “dog ate my homework” excuses for not having registered to vote until …

Anyone with the political smarts of a 6-year-old has to chuckle when a Republican pollster proclaims that Americans are angrier than even and then reels off reasons why that are straight out of the GOP …

A good friend’s husband retired a few years back, but they made sure they had continuing health coverage, to the tune of $1,400 a month – that’s actually not a bad deal these days.
For all …

I’m not going to pick on Joe Wilson.
The South Carolina congressman  earned the honors of poster boy of the week for Foot in Mouth Disease after his impolitc political outburst Wednesday during the president’s health …

Keeping your kids home so they won’t be polluted by the outrageous ideas and radical agenda President Barack Obama is going to present in his back-to-school speech to children across the nation?
It’s good to stand …