A recent study reported that fewer nations are modeling their constitutions on the U.S. Constitution. In the ’60s and ’70s, new constitutions were patterned on the American version, but that apparently is no longer the case. The explanation for this trend is that our Constitution is miserly when it comes to guaranteeing “rights.” Popular “rights” [...]
Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
It’s Their Loss
Posted in America, Politics, World, tagged America, Greece, Politics, Rights, U.S. Constitution, United States Constitution, World on February 21, 2012 | 1 Comment »
The Republican Campaign Rolls Into The Buckeye State
Posted in Ohio, Politics, tagged Mitt Romney, Negative Advertising, Ohio, Politics, Republican Presidential Candidates, Rick Santorum on February 16, 2012 | 1 Comment »
On March 6, the Ohio Republican primary will be held. Today, when I was driving to and from Cleveland — more on that later — I heard the first radio ads of the primary season, which means that the vote cannot be far away. Today a Rasmussen poll reported that Rick Santorum has a big [...]
Redistricted Rivals
Posted in Humor, Ohio, Politics, tagged Cleveland, Congress, Dennis Kucinich, Humor, Marcy Kaptur, Ohio, Politics, Redistricting, Toledo on February 15, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
The 2010 Census cost Ohio two seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. That loss of seats made drawing the new congressional map a challenge — and also produced one of the more intriguing primary elections that Ohio will see this year. The primary pits two long-time Democratic Representatives, Dennis Kucinich and Marcy Kaptur, against [...]
Popeye For President!
Posted in Humor, Politics, TV, tagged Bluto, cartoons, Humor, Politics, Popeye, Presidential Campaigns, TV on February 10, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Tired of the mewling irritation of national politics? I sure am! Return with me to a simpler time. A time when politicians campaigned in top hats. A time when votes could be had for the price of a few cigars or the completion of a few chores for Olive Oyl. A time when a candidate [...]
The Leading Republican Blandidate
Posted in Politics, tagged Bain Capital, Colorado primary, Minnesota primary, Missouri primary, Mitt Romney, Ohio Primary, Reall Clear Politics Poll on February 8, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Reeling now from three losses in the Minnesota, Missouri and the Colorado primaries it will be interesting to see how and if Mitt Romney can re-invent himself before he faces the president in November as the nominee. Last night’s results showed that Romney is getting less of the vote in 2012 than he did in [...]
The State Of The State In Steubenville
Posted in Ohio, Politics, tagged John Kasich, Ohio, Politics, ProgressOhio, State of the State, Steubenville, Think Tanks on February 7, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Today Ohio Governor John Kasich gave the State of the State speech. He broke with years of precedent and gave the address at a school in Steubenville, Ohio. Amazingly, Kasich got ripped for deciding to give the speech away from Columbus. Some groups said it was a waste of time and money. One liberal “think [...]
Halftime In America? (II)
Posted in America, Politics, TV, tagged America, Chrysler, Clint Eastwood, Detroit, Politics, President Obama, TV on February 6, 2012 | 2 Comments »
As I suspected, the Clint Eastwood “Halftime in America” commercial for Chrysler that aired during last night’s Super Bowl turned out to be quite controversial. This AP article discusses some of the reaction to the ad from various points on the political spectrum and quotes Eastwood as saying the ad was not intended to be [...]
A Glimmer On The Horizon
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, Jobs, Politics, President Obama, Republicans, The Economy, Unemployment on February 4, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Yesterday’s unemployment report contained some good news, for a change. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released data stating that 243,000 new jobs were created, and the unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent. Both results are better than what economists and analysts — who never seem to be right — were expecting. There are some curious [...]
Wimping Out In Florida
Posted in Politics, tagged 2012 Republican presidential race, Florida, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Politics, Republican Party, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul on February 1, 2012 | 1 Comment »
The big news out of Florida is that Mitt Romney soundly defeated Newt Gingrich in a contest that, by all accounts, featured lots of “negative advertising.” I think the more interesting story, however, has to do with Rick Santorum and Ron Paul. Santorum and Paul got clobbered in Florida. Santorum ended up with 13 percent [...]
Are Federal Workers Overpaid? (II)
Posted in America, Politics, Work, tagged America, Congressional Budget Office, Federal Employees, Federal Workers, Government Employees, Politics, Private-sector employees, Work on January 30, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
About a year ago I wrote a post about whether federal employees are overpaid. It’s a never-ending debate — and now the Congressional Budget Office has weighed in. The CBO conducted a study that compared the wages, benefits, and overall compensation of federal employees and private-sector employees who shared certain comparable observable characteristics. The study [...]
The President And The Governor
Posted in Politics, tagged Arizona, High School, Jan Brewer, Politicians, Politics, President Obama on January 29, 2012 | 2 Comments »
When I read the political news, I often feel like I’m in high school again. That was my reaction when I read the story this week about an apparently testy exchange between President Obama and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer on an airport tarmac. President Obama, fresh from his State of the Union speech, flew to [...]
Tuning Out
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, TV, tagged America, Politics, President Obama, recession, State Of The Union speech, The Economy, TV, Unemployment on January 26, 2012 | 1 Comment »
I didn’t watch the President’s State of the Union speech earlier this week. It turns out I’m not alone. According to the New York Times, 37.8 million viewers watched the President’s speech. That’s down from 42.8 million in 2011, 48 million in 2010, and 52.3 million for the President’s 2009 speech to Congress. In short, [...]
High Expectations And Electric Football
Posted in Growing Up, Humor, Politics, tagged Electric Football, Growing Up, Humor, Politicians, Politics, toys on January 24, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Life can be difficult if you approach it with high expectations. You vote for a new President expecting him to live up to his promises, for example, and inevitably you are disappointed. That’s not a problem for me, because I grew up with Electric Football. Electric Football was a toy, but its ads portrayed it [...]
Ending Endorsements
Posted in America, Politics, TV, tagged America, Chicago Sun-Times, Fox News, MSNBC, Newspaper endorsements, newspapers, Politics, TV on January 23, 2012 | 1 Comment »
The Chicago Sun-Times has announced that it will no longer endorse particular political candidates for election. The Sun-Times concludes — accurately, in my view — that people don’t pay a lot of attention to newspaper endorsements anymore, that there are lots of other sources of information available to voters now, and that many people just [...]