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Political reality trumps their economic purity

 May 25, 2013; Updated: 6:17 pm

For those of us trying to sort out the debate over economic "austerity," there's a limit to what can be learned by inspecting the credentials of the contending economists.

Yes, the fiscal-stimulus vanguard includes a couple of famous Nobel...

Ms. Commissioner, There's a fly in my soup!

 May 24, 2013; Updated: 4:59 pm

'Horrible customer service." That's what the newly fired IRS commissioner averred was the agency's only sin in singling out conservative political groups for discriminatory treatment.

In such grim proceedings one should be grateful for...

Oklahoma! Not made for TV drama

 May 24, 2013; Updated: 4:59 pm

The world looked upon the tornado-flattened landscape of Moore, Okla., with awe. The destruction was shocking, as were the personal losses. Many Americans in the audience also felt - and this must be said - some comfort. Here was a country of...

Testing time arrives for Syria's rebels

 May 23, 2013; Updated: 5:25 pm

It's a rule of thumb in Middle East conflicts that whenever peace talks are announced, each side steps up the fighting so it can grab as much territory as possible before the cease-fire lines are drawn.

This struggle for position is...

Tea Party's excess will boomerang

 May 22, 2013; Updated: 5:25 pm

Back in their day, the tea party folks were riding high, fueling indignation over alleged government-run death panels, a treasonous Federal Reserve and the like. They commandeered sparsely attended Republican primaries, managing to nominate for...

Tyranny's shadow looms over nation

 May 22, 2013; Updated: 5:25 pm

Given last week's revelation that the IRS targeted conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, it's worth recalling President Obama's Ohio State University commencement address. The president decried "voices" warning "that tyranny is always...

Erosion of rights should not surprise

 May 19, 2013; Updated: 11:33 pm

It's hard not to laugh at the indignation over the Justice Department's seizure of telephone records of the Associated Press and its journalists. Sure, the seizure was sweeping rather than surgical, but the government says it is looking...

Local policing isn't just local anymore

 May 19, 2013; Updated: 11:32 pm

The job of local law enforcement officers has never been easy. Each day an officer steps onto the street and into the unknown. Sworn to protect and serve, Connecticut's local police officers have willingly put their lives on the line to...

Redacted truth, subjunctive outrage

 May 18, 2013; Updated: 5:12 pm

Note to GOP re Benghazi: Stop calling it Watergate, Iran-contra, bigger than both, etc. First, it might well be, but we don't know. History will judge. Second, overhyping will only diminish the importance of the scandal if it doesn't meet...

Obama fans should look on the sunny side

 May 17, 2013; Updated: 5:25 pm

Let's try to come up with some positive thoughts about the recent political fortunes of the Obama White House:

• Economy's getting a little better. Deficit's dropping.

• Bill Clinton had a really terrible second term and...

Obama government's list of careless errors

 May 16, 2013; Updated: 5:51 pm

At a time when Congress can't pass a budget and the president can't win approval of any important legislation, the public is indignant about the threat of an overreaching, all-powerful federal government that uses the IRS and the Justice...

Benghazi and IRS: Obama's Watergate?

 May 15, 2013; Updated: 5:38 pm

In his defense of President Obama, Press Secretary Jay Carney is beginning to sound a lot like Ronald Zeigler, Richard Nixon's spokesman. Carney only has to use the word "inoperative," as Ziegler did when incriminating evidence surfaced that...

Benghazi: 'what ... is the scandal?'

 May 14, 2013; Updated: 9:47 am

Remember the scandal of "the 16 words"? If you do, you've probably been inside the Beltway too long, literally or figuratively. If not, the quick version is this: A former ambassador named Joseph C. Wilson IV charged in 2003 that...

Cleveland kidnapping: Race, guns and a heroic neighbor

 May 12, 2013; Updated: 8:12 pm

We need more neighbors willing to act as Charles Ramsey did. We all could stand to be more like that.

Enjoying Iron Man's healthy conversion

 May 12, 2013; Updated: 8:26 pm

No spoiler alerts are needed for me to point out that, though subtle, Tony Stark set beautiful examples of healthful eating throughout this latest episode.

De-federalize pot, let states decide

 May 12, 2013; Updated: 3:54 pm

Using a cockeyed logic, the U.S. Congress, in the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, set the stage for the modern drug war by giving marijuana and heroin the same "most dangerous" Schedule I classification. In addition, the act declared both...

Cheney myth much larger than the man

 May 12, 2013; Updated: 3:54 pm

For a time, it seemed as if Dick Cheney owned Washington. From congressional intern to youngest-ever White House chief of staff, from six-term member of the House of Representatives to secretary of defense, from director of the Council on Foreign...

Obama's pink line in Damascus sand

 May 11, 2013; Updated: 6:04 pm

You know you're in trouble when you can't even get your walk-back story straight. Stung by the worldwide derision that met President Obama's fudging and fumbling of his chemical-weapons red line in Syria, the White House leaked to The New York...

U.S.-Russia Syria talks are at least a good start

 May 10, 2013; Updated: 5:12 pm

It shouldn't have been this hard, but Secretary of State John Kerry has finally gotten Russia to back the peace plan on Syria that it endorsed in principle last June. This isn't a breakthrough but at least it's a beginning.

What the United...

Making toy-like guns invites tragedy

 May 9, 2013; Updated: 5:51 pm

Two summers ago, my husband and I took our sons to a shooting range for multiple days of firearms training with a certified instructor. Our logic was simple: In our low-income community with lots of gang activity, it was laughable to imagine that...

Reporters' Koch fears reveal industry bias

 May 8, 2013; Updated: 5:51 pm

'Mainstream media" are alarmed by reports that billionaires Charles and David Koch are considering the purchase of Tribune Company's eight daily newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times.

When Warren Buffett spent $344 million to purchase...

Foolish austerity policy slowing U.S. recovery

 May 7, 2013; Updated: 12:08 am

At this point the economic case for austerity - for slashing government spending even in the face of a weak economy - has collapsed. Claims that spending cuts would actually boost employment by promoting confidence have fallen apart. Claims that...

Obama's brief victory before his big fall

 May 6, 2013; Updated: 5:51 pm

Fate is fickle, power cyclical, and nothing is new under the sun. Especially in Washington, where after every election the losing party is sagely instructed to confess sin, rend garments and rethink its principles lest it go the way of the Whigs.

Aggressive digital age media is fraught with danger

 May 5, 2013; Updated: 3:16 pm

El Houssein Barhoum is the father of one of the young men depicted on the April 18 cover of the New York Post. "Bag Men," read the headline, with this explanation: "Feds seek these two pictured at Boston Marathon."

"These two" had nothing...

In search of an app to quick fix fitness

 May 5, 2013; Updated: 3:16 pm

We may not have time for exercise, but there's always time to read about exercising. And while the motivation to exercise may not be tops, the motivation to shop for "aids" to exercise seems forever strong.

Both activities offer the...

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