VP lives rent-free in this 9,000 square foot house.…and gives little to charity (Photo credit: White House Museum)
I don’t want to pick on Joe Biden.
He seems a decent enough guy, and if he sometimes says odd things (like “we to have spend money to keep from going bankrupt”), his musings are at least authentic expressions of his sometimes confused state of mind. He is not a phony. Continue reading
Showtime’s Savanarola from The Borgias
Season 3 of The Borgias premieres on Showtime this Sunday . For those not yet ensnared in this addiction, the series tells the story of Renaissance Pope Alexander VI, one of the papacy’s most devilishly interesting characters. Showtime takes the usual Hollywood liberties with history, though Alexander, born in Spain as Rodrigo de Borgia, led a life that needs no embellishing. Continue reading
Photo Credit Thinkprogress.org
Young people love President Obama. But will they love Obamacare?
The real test will come this October, when millions of uninsured people will be required to enroll in health insurance through health exchanges run by their state or the federal government. Continue reading
Maybe Kevin Costner should build the new health exchanges.
Would you pay $52 per month for health insurance coverage?
Palm Beach County officials thought people would. They were wrong. Continue reading
The Obama Administration surrendered to political reality yesterday, granting a program that seniors love and that it loathes a reprieve from what would have been devastating cuts.
Did you cash a check today? Or withdraw money from your savings account? Or use your debit card to buy a sandwich? If so, many Cypriots wish they were you. Continue reading
Budget debates make good political theater. Each party forces recorded votes designed to score political points and embarrass members of the opposing party. The House had fun yesterday with some amendments before adopting the Republican proposal written by Paul Ryan (R‑WI). The Senate began debate on its proposal last evening and is bracing for Friday’s “vote-a-rama” – a day of recorded votes on dozens of politically-barbed amendments advanced by members of both parties. Continue reading
Be very afraid: there’s a banking crisis in Cyprus.
Huh? Continue reading
Last minute plea from Italian voters.
Italy’s nation’s current leader, Mario Monti, the darling of Europe’s governing class, is running fourth among the current slate of candidates. He trails comedian Beppe Grillo, whose obscenity-laced rants are drawing big crowds and may propel him beyond his current third place position. Pier Luigi Bersani, the Center-Left candidate, leads the pack, but he’s being pursued hard by the never-boring Silvio Berlusconi. Mr. B is trying to reclaim the office from which he was rousted 15 months ago in favor of Mario Monti, who was appointed to head a “technical government.” Continue reading
Speaker of the House John Boehner, with Reps. Martha Roby, R‑Ala., and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R‑Wash., talk about the sequester on Feb. 13.
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The political war of words over $85 billion in automatic spending cuts set to take effect March 1 will next evolve into a legislative battle in the Senate. The result of that battle is uncertain. The final outcome is not: whether or not the Senate manages to pass the measure, it will not become law. It will not because it cannot.
Although the bill won’t actually be introduced until next Monday or Tuesday, it is expected to replace the across-the-board spending cuts with a mixture of specified cuts and tax increases. And therein lies its undoing. Continue reading