After Mitt Romney's continued wins in late primary states the obvious Republican nominee for president has officially entered into direct campaign battle-duty with President Obama. Yet, as he does so, he faces a self-inflicted Sisyphean task to overcome an utter inability to… Read full post »

Mr. President,

      I voted for you in 2008 and you have my support for a 2^nd term as President. While I was initially hesitant during the primaries, I warmed to your ideas and inspiring message of change in Washington. Many of us had high hopes for a more effective/… Read full post »

     This past weekend French voters denied their incumbent president Nicolas Sarkozy reelection in a resounding rejection of austerity policies which have kept European economic recovery out of reach. In arrant disavowal of this message and mounting real world evidence to the co… Read full post »

     Headlines reporting “Jobs Report: More of the Same” rang out this morning from numerous media outlets but does two months of lackluster numbers actually reflect the trend these banners imply? Or does it illustrate a forgetfulness which blurs all things beyond the… Read full post »

      All this criticism from the Republican Party around the “politicization” of the bin Laden mission is rather interesting. It sounds like Romney and the Republican Party in general do not want to be reminded of their long-term inability to attend to the terror/… Read full post »

Given Donald Verrilli Jr.'s poor showing in two consecutive, landmark cases is it time for Obama to let him go?

     For the second time in two months Donald Verrilli Jr. delivered a dismal performance in front of the Supreme Court. One would think after ineffective defense of t… Read full post »

     Anyone frustrated with the drawn out economic recovery here in the US should cast a gaze across the Atlantic for a view of how it could have been. In the European Union we have a unique opportunity to catch a glimpse of where this country would be had we chosen… Read full post »

      This is the first Earth Day I have made an effort to take part in its celebration. My regular readers may find this a bit odd given the topics about which I opine. As an educated environmental scientist not taking part in the annual April 22^nd observance in some/… Read full post »

      Speculators have entered the conversation once more with President Obama's proposal to police their manipulation of oil markets. Almost immediately his Republican opponents lambasted the effort as nothing more than a political ploy. Industry leaders stepped forwar… Read full post »

      Tax season is upon us all once more but every 4 years or so tax filings become a bit more sensationalized when presidential candidates open theirs up for public scrutiny. This year the hoopla has ballooned a bit beyond the norm. For the second… Read full post »

     Anyone who pays attention to American politics has by now heard of the comment made by Hilary Rosen about Ann Romney never working a day in her life. Of course this erupted into a controversy given Rosen's status as a Democratic pundit and strategist. Judging from the re… Read full post »

     Presidential vacation time is always fodder for criticism no matter the economic environment but when the country is beset by a slow recovery it becomes much easier to rail against the current executive for enjoying some leisure time. This was evident in a testy interview mom… Read full post »

      Well Obama up and stuck his foot in his mouth once again. This past week he dared to criticize the Supreme Court's authority to overturn the will of elected representatives of Congress. Or did he?  

         So much upro/… Read full post »

       This past week witnessed the long anticipated, commencement and culmination of the Supreme Court hearings on the Affordable Health Care Act's constitutionality. Each of the three days brought endless speculative predictions as to how the justices will vote and how… Read full post »

      In the early morning hours of this, the first day of April, a rare visitor to Monterey Bay invited himself into one of the open sea exhibits of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Affectionately, dubbed “Artie”, by the volunteer staff who arrived early this mo/… Read full post »

     Much has been made over the contraception mandate rules implemented as part of the Affordable Care Act with many conservative commentators asking why the public should pay for others to have sex. Along with the fallacious characterization of contraception use the controvers… Read full post »

      With the release of what has been dubbed the Playground Tapes, President Obama's adversaries in the conservative blogosphere have redeemed themselves after the disappointing release of the first video earlier this month. While the college video fell flat, the Playgroun… Read full post »

     This past week witnessed the announcement of moderate Republican Senator Olympia Snowe that she will not seek a fourth term, citing the “atmosphere of polarization” in Congress. A fellow senator and bipartisan legislation co-sponsor, Lindsey Graham of South Carol/… Read full post »

     Once more Mitt Romney regained his “front-runner” status with his wins in Arizona and Michigan last night. The pressure was assuredly on him to take the top spot in his home state of Michigan but in the end his slim victory only highlighted his tenuous hold on th… Read full post »

    As gas prices rev up into high gear well before the summer months of traditional high demand predictions estimate prices at the pump will reach well over $4.00 a gallon. Along with the impacts this will have on the average consumer, these increases will, and already have, produced… Read full post »

     This year’s Superbowl ads plucked at sensitive political tensions more so than previous championship seasons. From an anti-union ad to the auto industry’s America is Recovering, Clint Eastwood, perceived politically-motivated halftime ad, national politics took ad… Read full post »

    “I just see no profit in continuing a discussion with someone who simply wants to argue.” This was the final comment made during a discussion I had online recently. It all began with a blog post I happened upon criticizing the President's decision to deny the Keystone/… Read full post »

^{Photo: Andrew Harrer, Bloomberg}

Morphing into a political and economic lightning rod, the current Keystone pipeline plan’s fate was decided this week…Permit DENIED. The decision was met with scathing criticisms from Republicans and praise from the President’s supporters.… Read full post »

President Obama riled Republicans this past Wednesday with his “recess” appointments of four long-blocked agency nominations. The most hair raising for the GOP was the President’s appointment of Richard Cordray to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency congressi… Read full post »

     Expanding on discussion started in Clean Air Act & the Anti-Regulation Movement Part 1 in which we compared past industry predictions of dire consequences of environmental regulation and the realities of their implementation. Industry consistently foresaw unsustainable co… Read full post »