Autiello: Will True Christianity Please Stand Up?
Nick Autiello, Contributor
The notion that homosexuality is a sin and un-Christian is one that is less than a hundred years old. It is wrong, and has no basis in scriptural or historical reality.
SASSO: The Coming New Year
James Sasso, Associate Editor
As the tumultuous 2011 comes down to its final day, this column could contain an obnoxious summary of the year’s extraordinary events. Rather than once again discussing the protests around the world, the death of Osama Bin Laden, Fukushima, America’s political ineptitude, Europe’s demise or the increasingly frightful weather patterns, here I attempt to predict what 2012 holds in store.
SASSO: Kicking the Can
James Sasso, Associate Editor
For one of the first times in his tenure as Speaker, John Boehner has made a statement with which every American, Republican or Democrat, should fully agree; the two-month Senate bipartisan extension of the payroll tax cut fails to fix the nation’s problems sufficiently. Providing a short-term band-aid to a long-term dilemma contradicts what a responsible government should accomplish, but fits the pattern of contemporary American politicking.
CIOCCI: A Foolish Consistency
Mitt Romney is guilty of serial hypocrisy, Newt Gingrich is guilty of being a public intellectual constantly scrutinized by the media and others, and Ron Paul never ceases to remind me about one of my favorite quotes from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Essays: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.”
AKMAN: Jon Huntsman’s Meaningless Campaign
Josh Akman, Columnist
Jon Huntsman did not participate in the CNN Debate in Las Vegas on Tuesday night. Short of his family and small (and getting smaller) campaign staff, no one really noticed. In a bizarre and counterproductive effort to impress New Hampshire voters Huntsman skipped the debate to protest Nevada moving its caucus ahead of New Hampshire’s, which has always been the nation’s first primary. It’s bizarre because no one else skipped the debate. It’s counterproductive because right now, Jon Huntsman is polling 6% in New Hampshire.
SASSO: The 99% Rising
James Sasso
Associate Editor
For the past month a movement has grown out of Zuccoti Park in New York with the potential to grab at the very heart of America’s problems. “We are the 99%” is not simply a catchy phrase used by frustrated jobless Americans , but a commentary on the disgraceful economic inequality that has arisen in the United States since the 1970s.
AUTIELLO: The Arrival of (Conservative?) Hispanic America
Nick Autiello, Columnist
America’s large and growing Hispanic population is far from politically uniform. But one issue unites them: immigration. Both parties must pass comprehensive immigration reform — that deals both with increased border security and a compassionate and pragmatic solution to the millions of people here illegally now — in order to remain politically viable.
AUTIELLO: Heed Holbrooke
Nick Autiello, Columnist
We need to start turning this country around, and correctly it needs to begin with the economy. But real economic recovery requires getting ourselves out of the longest war in American history and focusing all that attention on our failing public school system, not on tax cuts that aren’t actually tax cuts for people who are sitting on top of trillions of dollars.
AUTIELLO: Hegel, the Midterms, and Priorities
Nick Autiello, Columnist
If you pull anything from Hegel’s monstrously complex and usually contradictory theory, it’s that each moment in history is unique unto itself. The needs of the country — and of each individual state or district — are unique and experiencing their own history. But our country doesn’t need histrionics. It needs a shift in priorities.
AUTIELLO: Florida, Career Politicians and Moral Politics
Nick Autiello, Contributor
If we continue to demonize our politicians — though many of them certainly merit it — then we will very soon cross the line into demonizing government itself. How can we have an effective government if it is filled with leaders without experience in governance?
AUTIELLO: Peace Built on PVC Pipes
Nick Autiello, Columnist — in Tel Aviv
Israel was justified in boarding the Turking flotilla, but the event signals a deeper problem in the peace process.
AUTIELLO: Crist Still Best Hope for Florida
Nick Autiello, Moderate Republican
In what was a less-than-surprising veto of a teacher merit-bay system backed by former Governor Jeb Bush, Florida Governor Charlie Crist secured his political future. The problem, however, is that no one can seem to agree as to what exactly that means. Did Crist just recruit a huge base of supporters in the democrat-heavy teacher population that will help him get elected to the US Senate? Or did he alienate the Republican base…again?
AUTIELLO: The Time is Now: Rebuilding Haiti
Nick Autiello, Moderate Republican
During an International Donors’ Conference in New York a few days ago, billions of dollars in aid was pledged to rebuilding Haiti, far more than was even asked for by the devastated island nation. How can this unprecedented amount of aid be used to ensure that the thousands of Haitian refugees return home to a country where they can live as citizens of a prosperous nation?
Autiello: We Choose to Go to Mars
Why we should put a man on Mars in this decade – not because it is easy, not because it is hard and not because it is a challenge that requires us to rise to it or be destroyed by a foreign power – but because the dream provides a source of inspiration, hope and national renewal for the American people.
Autiello: The Key to Economic Recovery – Education 2.0
The new 21st century paradigm that will reset how we teach our kids and the future of education in America.
AUTIELLO: A Return to Statesmanship
Nick Autiello, Moderate Republican
The American statesman is dead. The level of political debate in the United States today has sunk to an all time low, and it should be troubling to all Americans, regardless of political party.
AUTIELLO: Will 2010 Be the Year of Middle East Peace?
Will 2010 be the year of Middle East peace, or will a divided Palestinian society make it impossible?
AUTIELLO: Oh, Silvio
What’s wrong with Italy – and why it can’t be fixed.
AUTIELLO: Blockade Iran
President Obama should fulfill his promise to deal with the Iranian nuclear threat.