By: John ShafferWednesday March 3, 2010 President Obama convoked the Health Care Summit in order to find a way to pass his bill. The Congressional Democrat leaders hoped to protect themselves from the electoral consequences of passing the bill. The Republicans hoped to find a way to prevent the passage of the bill. All may have succeeded, in a way - but in spite of heavy public opposition to his bill, the President continues to press on...

By: John ShafferFriday February 19, 2010 The folks who support the theory that humans have been a major cause of global warming are irate about those who point to this year's cold winter is evidence against the theory. "Weather is not climate," they tell us, warning that we should not over-react to individual events. Fair enough...except that the notorious "Yellowstone summer" of 1988, with unusually warm temperatures, was used by the "A...

By: John ShafferThursday February 11, 2010 Fresh from the afterglow of President Obama's visit to the House Republican conference and his appearance before the Senate Democrats, both of which were televised, the President has invited leaders of both parties to a summit at Blair House. Winston Churchill once said "jaw-jaw is better than war-war," meaning that talking over problems is better than fighting over them, and we hope that this sum...

By: John ShafferFriday February 5, 2010 President Obama deserves credit for making an appearance before the Republican conference in Baltimore, and taking some questions from Republican members of Congress. He hasn't changed his direction post-Scott Brown's election, but he has begun to shift its packaging. The President's participation is refreshing and positive, and after a year of accusing the Republicans of offering nothing but "no,...

By: John ShafferFriday January 22, 2010 In what has been called "The Scott heard 'round the world," or "A small earthquake in Massachusetts," Republican Scott Brown has defeated Democrat Martha Coakley for the US Senate seat once held by the late Ted Kennedy and his brother John. That in and of itself would be a significant shift in America's political landscape, but given the situation in the Senate, with the majority Democrats determi...

By: John ShafferFriday January 15, 2010 Mark McGwire broke the major league's single season homerun record in 1998, and from that season, through the rest of his career and beyond, he has been plagued by accusations that he used performance enhancing substances. After years of dodging the question, this week he admitted the truth behind the charges, and confessed to using the substances for more than ten seasons, including that storied ...

By: John ShafferFriday January 8, 2010 The failed attempt by "underwear bomber" Abdulmutallab caused waves of change. It reminded those whose mind-set had long ago receded to the days before September 11, 2001 that there are people out there who are committed to our destruction. It shows that al-qaeda is patient, clever and able to adapt to circumstances. The attack "failed," but it should have been "foiled" - there were plenty of reas...

Tuesday December 22, 2009 The Post Office is closed on Presidents Day. Schools will be closed. Banks will be closed. Most government and municipal offices will be closed. This holiday is an amalgam of Lincoln's birthday and Washington's birthday, and by closing we honor their examples and their achievements in building and preserving our nation. Those places also are closed on Thanksgiving Day, the purpose of which is to "...

By: John ShafferTuesday December 22, 2009 What is the hardest thing for a politician to do? Some say "vote to raise taxes," but that is nonsense - politicians in Washington and Harrisburg raise taxes all the time - and most of them would raise them even more (and more often) if they could get away with it. No, the hardest thing for a politician to do is "to do nothing." A wonderful case in point is the so-called health care reform now bef...

By: John ShafferFriday November 13, 2009 The Obama administration is touting the "success" of its economic recovery program by proclaiming that it has "created or saved" 640,329 jobs since its stimulus plan was signed into law. Note the precision of that number, with that exact "329" on the end - conveying the impression that it has been meticulously and intricately calculated. This would lead us to believe that the administration would ...