More than 109 lobbyists and 39 Democratic members of Congress attended a "winter retreat" last weekend in Puerto Rico, ostensibly to help raise funds for damage caused by hurricane Maria in 2017, reports Fox News. The fun in the sun was enhanced by a limited run of the Broadway hit "Hamilton," starring its creator, lead actor, and Democratic partisan, Lin-Manuel Miranda. Published January 16, 2019
When you receive your paycheck and look at the withholding for federal, state and sometimes city taxes, along with Social Security and Medicare, you probably don't think you're underpaying governments and want them to take more. Published January 14, 2019
Despite advance billing that President Trump's border wall speech would break news and contain new information, it was mostly familiar rhetoric: Criminals and drugs, rapists and murderers are coming to America and the wall is the only way to stop them. Published January 9, 2019
The Irish government is proposing rebates to a carbon tax it recently imposed to households that comply with what it considers "low-carbon lifestyles." The rebate, according to Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, might be in the form of a check, an increase in welfare benefits or a tax credit for people who live the way the government thinks they should. Published January 7, 2019
To Brexit, or not to Brexit, that is the question (apologies to Shakespeare). The answer to whether the U.K. will pull out of the European Union as a majority of voters favored in a 2016 referendum will be decided this month. Maybe. Published January 2, 2019
"Why can't the English teach their children how to speak?" asked Professor Henry Higgins in the musical "My Fair Lady." It's a good question for Americans, especially millennials. Published December 31, 2018
Osama bin Laden predicted it and his prophecy appears to be coming true. In the book "The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11," Lawrence Wright quotes bin Laden as saying: "Look at Vietnam, look at Lebanon. Whenever soldiers start coming home in body bags, Americans panic and retreat. Such a country needs only to be confronted with two or three sharp blows, then it will flee in panic, as it always has." Published December 26, 2018
Not for a long time has the world seemed so removed from the angelic proclamation of 2,000 years ago: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men" (Luke 2:14). Published December 24, 2018
Republicans and conservatives dating back at least to Richard Nixon have used the slogan "tough on crime" and its corollary "lock 'em up and throw away the key" as electoral red meat. The problem is what to do when inmates are released with few skills, fewer job prospects and a bleak future that leads some to commit new crimes that land them in prison again at taxpayers' expense. Published December 19, 2018
The erosion of what many Americans once believed were the foundations of our country continues apace. They include, but are not limited to, overspending and debt (personal and national), never-ending wars, uncontrolled borders leading to massive immigration with no time for or expectation of assimilation and political divisions that grow wider by the day. Published December 17, 2018
Hell may have no fury like a woman scorned, but scorning the Washington Establishment produces even greater anger. Published December 12, 2018
Before George H.W. Bush fades from memory into the darkness of history books, one more point needs to be made. It is about the contrast between how most of the major media treated him when he was president and how they mostly (but not completely) did a 180 during their coverage and commentary of his funeral. Published December 10, 2018
The scene at the U.S. Capitol on Monday as former President George H.W. Bush lay in state presented a tableau and a lesson for those who seek earthly power and believe it can change things. Published December 5, 2018
I first met the man who would become America's 41st president in 1968. He was a Houston congressman and I was a young reporter for a local TV and radio station. My first impression was how kind he was to this "kid," who had just moved to Texas from the Washington, D.C., area and was just starting to learn the "language," like "fixing to go" and "y'all." Published December 3, 2018
Each time an end-of-the-world prophecy is delivered — whether by a self-deluded preacher, a group of politicians or scientists — we are told that we must believe. Never mind how many of their prophecies have been wrong in the past, this time they mean it. Published November 28, 2018
Chief Justice John Roberts has been drawn into President Trump's web. Published November 26, 2018
Google "Great American Political Cartoonists" and you will undoubtedly find the late Herbert Block (aka "Herblock") of The Washington Post, (Paul) Conrad of the Los Angeles Times, Michael Ramirez of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and several other cartoonists whose work, if not their names, are familiar to newspaper readers. Published November 21, 2018
After two recounts — one by machine, the other by hand — after a concession speech by Andrew Gillum, the Democratic candidate for governor, which was withdrawn and then re-delivered; after hordes of lawyers descended on the state to argue that "every vote should be counted," including mail-in ballots with faulty signatures that were rejected the first time around, it's finally over. Published November 19, 2018
One doesn't have to be Roman Catholic or even Christian to recognize the great good the Catholic Church has done. America would be worse off were it not its pro-life stance and numerous acts of charity. Published November 14, 2018
Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Republican, had the best line when it comes to the latest Florida election in which contests for governor and the U.S. Senate are still undecided. Published November 12, 2018
