With an evenly divided Senate, the Democrats need every Democratic and independent senator’s vote to pass legislation opposed by Republicans, which is most of Biden’s and his party’s agenda. Topping the list is protecting Americans’ right to vote from Republican state-level v[...]
Archive for the ‘America’ Category
PHOTOGRAPHY: Capitol Security
Want to blow up the Capitol? (See story here.) Come and get it. Depleting the population of domestic terrorists is no loss to our democracy. (Technical details: The rifles aren’t loaded, but an ammo magazine in a chest pouch is visible on the National Guard soldier on the left. With practice, [...]
House Dems pass voting rights bill, now comes World War 3 in the Senate
“House Democrats passed sweeping voting and ethics legislation over unanimous Republican opposition” Wednesday night, sending to the Senate “what would be the largest overhaul of the U.S. election law in at least a generation,” AOL News said. (Read story here.) The bill takes[...]
The Covid-19 baby bust
It seems counter-intuitive, but 9 months after Covid-19 lockdowns began, two dozen states reported a 7% drop in their birth rates; and, the Brookings Institution is predicting “a large, lasting baby bust” in 2021. The explanation? “It’s not the main reason births have declined du[...]
Should a president’s nuclear launch decision be subject to approval?
Several dozen House Democrats, undoubtedly with Trump in mind, want nuclear war to be a committee decision. (Read story here.) They argue that “other officials, including the vice president and speaker of the House, should concur with a launch order before it can be issued.” Stephen Youn[...]
Is Biden too soft on China?
If you ask Republicans, they’ll say yes, but that doesn’t mean much. These days, they’re not right about much of anything. And because everything they do comes across as partisan sniping, when they claim “Biden is soft on China,” that immediately provokes skepticism. Ov[...]
Contrite Saudis suck up to Biden
“Saudi Arabia is extending an olive branch to the Biden administration,” Foreign Policy magazine says, noting that, “On Feb. 10, the kingdom released women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul after 1,001 days in prison …. Earlier this year, Riyadh released other politic[...]
Will fleeing Republicans join the Democrats?
It seems like a preposterous idea. But there was a time when both parties had conservative and liberal wings. And the current leader of the Democratic Party is, by almost any reasonable measure, a moderate. And it’s hard to see traditional Republicans making common cause — or being seen [...]
Former Aussie PM: How the U.S. and China could avoid war
“Officials in Washington and Beijing don’t agree on much these days, but there is one thing on which they see eye to eye: the contest between their two countries will enter a decisive phase in the 2020s. This will be the decade of living dangerously. No matter what strategies the two sides p[...]
Can politics return to normalcy?
“Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke out against ‘loony lies and conspiracy theories’ this week, calling them a ‘cancer for the Republican Party,’ while praising Rep. Liz Cheney, a GOP leader who voted to impeach Trump. … “McConnell knows [...]