As critics begin dissecting the Obama administration’s ideas on gun control later this week, one refrain is certain to surface: There is no research connecting problem A, say how many gun-show guns end up in the hands of felons, to solution B, say requiring background checks for gun show sales. The reason there is so […]
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Posted inBusiness, Nation / World, sj-web
Are games to blame? Video game industry defends itself in the gun debate
WASHINGTON (AP) — The video game industry, blamed by some for fostering a culture of violence, defended its practices Friday at a White House meeting exploring how to prevent horrific shootings like the recent Connecticut elementary school massacre. Vice President Joe Biden, wrapping up three days of wide-ranging talks on gun violence prevention, said the […]
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Obama, Karzai agree on U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan
WASHINGTON — Uneasy allies, President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai demonstrated Friday they could agree on one big idea: After 11 years of war, the time is right for U.S. forces to let Afghans do their own fighting. U.S. and coalition forces will take a battlefield back seat by spring and, by implication, […]
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Obama must stand up with debt crisis plan
Just before President Barack Obama signed his historic health care bill in 2010, Vice President Joe Biden famously shook the president’s hand, leaned toward him and whispered “this is a Big (blanking) deal.” Unfortunately, a nearby microphone picked up the VP’s congratulations along with the expletive in the middle. The question two and a half […]
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Obama to pick Hagel as defense secretary
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will nominate Chuck Hagel as his next defense secretary, a senior administration official said Sunday, choosing a former Senate colleague and a decorated Vietnam veteran and signaling he’s ready for a contentious confirmation fight likely dominated by questions about Hagel’s stands on Israel and Iran. Obama, who avoided a Capitol […]
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Obama urges action on debt ceiling
HONOLULU — is hailing a last-minute deal that avoids the fiscal cliff but says it’s just one step in a broader effort to boost the economy and shrink federal deficits. Obama said in his radio and Internet address Saturday that the new law — approved by Congress on New Year’s Day and signed Thursday — […]
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Cliff fix didn’t repair deficit
WASHINGTON — Onward to the next fiscal crisis. Actually, several of them, potentially. The New Year’s Day deal averting the “fiscal cliff” lays the groundwork for more combustible struggles in Washington over taxes, spending and debt in the next few months. President Barack Obama’s victory on taxes this week was the second, grudging round of […]
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A new year, new Congress, old problems
Americans suffered a whole lot of anxiety in anticipation of congressional action to keep us from sliding off the much-feared fiscal cliff, only to see Congress take the utterly expected and truly unimaginative action of removing scheduled middle class tax increases, increasing tax rates on incomes over $400,000 and delaying spending cuts. Politics is about […]
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It is time to ponder our resolve
According to USA.gov, the common man’s top New Year resolutions year after year are: Drink less alcohol Eat healthy food Get a better education Get a better job Get fit Lose weight Manage debt Manage stress Quit smoking Reduce, reuse and recycle Save money Take a trip Volunteer to help others And, according to Time […]
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Lawmakers scramble to avoid fiscal cliff
WASHINGTON — The top Senate negotiators on the effort to prevent the government from going over the “fiscal cliff” offered a pessimistic assessment Sunday barely 24 hours before a deadline to avert tax hikes on virtually every worker. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said he’s yet to receive a response to an offer he made […]