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.
THERRIAULT: The Political US Economy and Developing Markets
Though emerging markets are increasing shares in consumption and output may simply be attributable to a scale of population, the true power of many emerging economies will be realized as they are tested by time. How can the American economy, which has enjoyed being at the top of the global heap for nearly a century, accommodate and work with these emerging economies to bolster its own position? Politics will surely play a large role.
THERRIAULT: Minnesota, Defaults, and Democracy
Patrick Therriault, Columnist
The business of politics has become more partisan each election cycle of the past two decades. Incentives to act on behalf of constituents have become perverted by old and new media – and old and new political fights. It seems clear at this point that the fewer people with Twitter accounts and a self-serving desire to be reelected the following year involved, the better.
THERRIAULT: A Bailout with Staying Power: Amtrak Turns 40
As Amtrak prepares to mark it’s 40th birthday, Patrick Therriault takes a look at rail subsidies, high-speed rail and the future of our nation’s railroads.
THERRIAULT: Freddie and Fannie Still in Business, But No One Wants Them to Be
While everyone seems to agree that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac need to wind down, no concrete action has yet taken for neither a conservative solution nor a liberal one seem to be optimal. In light of this reality, is there anything that can be done to solve the problems the two government-sponsored entities create?
THERRIAULT: A Rational Look at Federal Spending
The biased, low quality information presented in the media about the looming budget crisis may make America’s problems appear as unsurmountable. However a rational, business-like approach to the country’s fiscal issues will provide self-evident solutions to our seemingly-unmanageable problems.
Therriault: Debt-Reduction by a Thousand Cuts
President Obama’s budget will spark a partisan fight over an insignificant part of the country’s expenditures. Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, the bitterness this useless will create will undermine the political good-will necessary to actually tackle America’s fiscal challenges.
Therriault: Reforming the Post Office
Last fall, the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced that for the fiscal year ending September 2010, it had a post-revenue loss of $8.0 billion. Despite shedding nearly $9.0 billion in costs over the past two years, these figures have become unsustainable, and the USPS — as well as its overseers on Capitol Hill — have begun announcing more drastic measures to fill in this money pit.
THERRIAULT: Two Years in, Obama Finds His Calling
Five days after Jared Loughner’s attempt on Ms Gifford’s life, Mr. Obama led the country in mourning the lives taken in that pursuit at the University of Arizona. In doing so, he advanced the idea that whether or not it was a cause of this shooting, the currently-polarized America is not the nation any of us really want to live in. Perhaps this is his his presidency’s call.
THERRIAULT: The 2011 Economic Outlook, What it Means to Congress
Patrick Therriault, Columnist
Republicans’ fate in future elections is now correlated positively with the U.S. economy, which is a much different position than the one that they had perhaps grown used to since the Democrats took back the House in 2007. Republicans will be motivated to take ownership of the current situation and begin to make policy that will drive the economy upwards, thereby providing tangible results to their constituents. Come 2011, we will begin to see results from Congress, if motivated by no other reason than each member’s selfish preparation for 2012. Well, maybe “the trains will run on time.” Happy New Year!
THERRIAULT: Senate Waits till End to Pass START
Patrick Therriault, Columnist
As Congressional Sessions shift from 111th to 112th, there is little time to clear the docket of critical legislation. One important bill, the New START Treaty, had broad international significance–and not just because of its potential to boost U.S.-Russia relations.
THERRIAULT: U.S., South Korea Harmonize on Free Trade “KORUS”
Patrick Therriault, Columnist
Late last week, negotiation teams from both South Korea and the United States tentatively accorded to a draft of revisions to the free trade agreement (FTA) between the two sovereign nations. If ratified by South Korea’s National Assembly and the U.S.’ newly elected Senate in January, the informally named “KORUS” final agreement would become the U.S.’ first FTA with a developed Asian economy and the most significant agreement since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993. South Korea and the U.S., the world’s number 15 and number one economies, have much to gain through the recently announced agreement. But could the agreement’s global significance, with negotiations concluded against a backdrop of unease between neighboring North Korea on the peninsula, be the deal’s largest caveat?
THERRIAULT: Business as Usual
The third and final installment of the infrastructure series! “Mr. Obama’s “Renew and Expand America’s Roads, Railways and Runways” plan looks surprisingly in tune with what our nation’s infrastructure and economy actually need, as it employs the ULI’s concept of treating infrastructure as a revolving investment rather than just another ad hoc line item of Congressional pork on the federal balance sheet,” Therriault writes. “As pragmatic as Mr. Obama’s plan seems, however, others doubt its effectiveness of rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure for a stronger and more efficient American economy.”
THERRIAULT: “Deciding” to Read President Bush’s Autobiography
Patrick Therriault, Columnist
November has been a busy month for former-President George W. Bush. After taking some time out of the spotlight, ground has recently been broken on his presidential museum in Dallas, and on November 9th, he released an autobiography entitled Decision Points. I have never read a president’s memoir or autobiography, but I am looking forward to reading the 43rd’s thoughts over my time off for the holidays this year.
THERRIAULT: Deficit-Reduction Committee Proposes That Other People Propose Things
Patrick Therriault, Columnist Ideology: Republican | Writing from: Connecticut After giving the federal charge card a rigorous workout during his first year in office, President Obama signed an executive order [...]
THERRIAULT: Infrastructure, an Investment Imperative
Patrick Therriault, Columnist
This week The Politicizer is featuring a three-piece series on infrastructure in the United States. This first article is a summary of the Urban Land Institute’s comprehensive report, with which our next two features will enage.