With the passage of health care insurance reform finally assured, the Democrats face the next huge hurdle.And this one may be even more important than finally passing the massively complex and politically perilous legislation.The time has come to name whatever this thing is so the Democrats can frame and sell their handiwork to the country and lay claim to their achievement for all time.In its in
It's not nearly as momentous as the passage of Medicare in 1965 and won't fundamentally alter how Americans think about social safety nets.But the likely passage of Obama's health care reform bill is the biggest thing Congress has done in decades, and has enormous political significance for the future.Medicare directly changed the life of every senior in America, giving them health security and d
WHO VOTES: Any of France's 45 million registered voters.WHEN: First round was March 14.Runoff is Sunday, with polls open at 8 a.m.(0700 GMT, 3 a.m.EDT) and last polls closed at 8 p.m.(1900 GMT, 3 p.m.EDT).WHAT FOR: Voters are choosing 1,880 new regional councilors for the country's 26 regions, 22 on the mainland and four overseas from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean.HOW: Voters choose by party
For several months I've been in conversations with organizations working to bring about comprehensive immigration reform.All of these organizations are engaging the religious community to support their efforts.In fact many religious issue advocacy organizations have taken the lead to champion the cause of immigration reform.At the invitation of friend, I attended a panel discussion sponsored by t
WASHINGTON – Hundreds of boisterous protesters gathered outside the Capitol on Sunday afternoon to voice their opposition to the health care legislation being debated inside.About 300 people carrying homemade signs, American flags and banners with the colonial-era slogan Don't tread on me fanned out across a grassy area near the House side of the Capitol.One sign read, Disobedience to ty
Media Matters, the defender of liberal media, jumped into last week's developing controversy and debate over White House Health Reform Director Nancy-Ann DeParle's unsolicited White House emails to federal employees.Media Matters scolds and makes fun of CBS News and Fox News for highlighting the issue, calling the claims pure speculation .Ironically, Media Matters doesn't deny that the unsolicit
As Congress convenes today to pass long-awaited health insurance reform, I'm reminded of one of the last times we voted on a Sunday: March 20, 2005, when Republicans forced an extraordinary vote to intervene in the case of Terri Schiavo.To know what a real government takeover looks like, one should revisit that resolution.That midnight vote was a grotesque legislative travesty.For 215 years it ha
WASHINGTON — The biggest overhaul of the nation's health care system in more than four decades got a crucial boost — and now appears likely to pass _as a group of anti-abortion Democrats got assurances from President Barack Obama that federal abortion policy won't change.Obama plans to issue an executive order later Sunday to ensure that the administration will enforce long-standing r
online 19