| Editorial Board: Sen. Rubio steps up on immigration Jan 18th 2013, 01:46 SEN. MARCO RUBIO, the Florida Republican in whom some GOP activists have invested presidential hopes for 2016, has seized on the issue of immigration, hoping to stake a claim to leadership in the coming national debate and to revive Republicans' dismal standing among Hispanics. What's striking about his plan, outlined so far in the media rather than in legislation, is that it appears to depart from President Obama's own approach in details, not principles. Read full article >>   |  | Editorial Board: Did tax-exempt groups mislead the IRS on political spending? Jan 18th 2013, 01:44 OF ALL THE groups that pumped hidden money into politics in recent years, the most notable and peculiar included those that claim a "social welfare" purpose and have applied to the Internal Revenue Service for designation as nonprofit and tax-exempt. These organizations, known as 501(c)(4) groups for the section of the federal tax code that governs them, must report their donors to the IRS but not to the public. They have become a favorite vehicle through which to channel millions of dollars into campaigns without public disclosure. Read full article >>   | | A failure of common sense Jan 18th 2013, 01:31 Richard Cohen's Jan. 15 op-ed column purports to tell us "How liberals lost the fight" on gun control. But what he details is how the right has overpowered any discussion of gun control. We are now left with laughable efforts to limit the killing power of guns that are available to virtually anyone. And the bloodshed continues. Read full article >>   | | Take the constitutional route Jan 18th 2013, 01:30 If The Post ["What to do about guns," editorial, Jan. 11], the Obama administration and others want to impose clearly unconstitutional gun restrictions to disarm the American public by banning or tracking the sales of broad classes of firearms and ammunition — rather than deal with the underlying causes for the violence in our culture — then they should offer a constitutional amendment to that effect. Read full article >>   | | No constitutional right to military weapons Jan 18th 2013, 01:29 Courtland Milloy's Jan. 16 Metro column, "A staunch defender of civil (and gun) rights," definitely provides something to ponder for advocates of gun registration, but it is worth noting that Charles (Chuck) Hicks and his family members used a shotgun and rifle to fend off attacks by the Ku Klux Klan; they did not use an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, nor other civilian versions of military weapons that have been on the market only since the late 1970s — the era in which mass shootings have escalated dramatically. Many of the tragedies we see today are a direct result of the gun industry's efforts to shore up their profits at the expense of public safety. Read full article >>   | | A new strategy for the GOP Jan 18th 2013, 01:18 It has become conventional wisdom that Republicans are suffering an internal split that President Obama is successfully exploiting to neuter the Republican House. It is not true, however, that the Republican split is philosophical and fundamental. And that a hopelessly divided GOP is therefore headed for decline, perhaps irrelevance. Read full article >>   | | The message Hagel carries on Iran Jan 18th 2013, 01:13 Let's stipulate that Chuck Hagel may make an exemplary defense secretary. That possibility doesn't alter the fact that his nomination by President Obama almost certainly raises doubts among allies and adversaries alike that Obama may not be nearly so committed to using all means necessary to prevent Iran from achieving a nuclear weapon as he pledged during his reelection campaign. If the White House does not take steps soon to correct that impression, the chances for a negotiated resolution of the Iran nuclear crisis will fall nearly to zero and the likelihood of Israeli military action will rise dramatically. Read full article >>   | | The NRA's diabolical ad Jan 18th 2013, 01:12 In 2008, just after Barack Obama was elected president, I gave a television interview regarding what the Obamas might expect on becoming the new first family. I was asked specifically how Malia and Sasha's lives would change. For a start, I said, they won't play outside anymore without armed guards. Read full article >>   | | Five myths about this year's flu Jan 17th 2013, 22:28 1. This season, the flu is deadlier than ever. The influenza virus is one of the leading causes of death by infectious disease in the United States. It killed an average of 36,000 Americans annually in the 1990s. Approximately 675,000 Americans died in the great influenza of 1918-1919, and 70,000 perished in the Asian flu outbreak of 1957-1958. To put these numbers in perspective, about 400,000 Americans died in World War II. Read full article >>   | | Sonia Sotomayor, one wise Latina Jan 17th 2013, 20:34 To grasp the remarkable nature of Sonia Sotomayor's new autobiography, consider this: The justice pokes fun at her own unfashionable underwear. The scene occurs in a dressing room, as Sotomayor, then a young law firm partner, goes shopping with a stylish client determined to infuse a bit of fashion sense into the frumpy lawyer. This includes getting her out of mother-purchased panties into what Sotomayor describes as "age-appropriate undergarments." Read full article >>   | | Jennifer Rubin: The real story on the debt ceiling fight Jan 17th 2013, 20:30 As I have written many times over the last few weeks, the showdown on the debt ceiling is rather phony. President Obama likely could not get a "clean" debt ceiling bill the Senate (Democrats don't want the vote any more than Republicans) The White House press secretary was obliviously nervous about even articulating any debt ceiling amount or time period. (The gist: Just extend it. Whatever.) The jig is nearly up. Read full article >> | | Jamelle Bouie: Marco Rubio's 'reformer' mask slips Jan 17th 2013, 20:15 As soon as Barack Obama was declared winner of the presidential election last year, Florida Senator Marco Rubio put himself out there as the face of Republican reform. And on some issues, like immigration, Rubio has moved away from GOP orthodoxy. But that's a special case; most Republicans agree that the party is doomed if it can't attract Latino voters and other nonwhites. On issues that don't obviously relate to the party's long-term survival, Rubio is a conventional conservative, responding to a base that remains far to the right of the average American. Read full article >> | | The Indian Spring Jan 17th 2013, 18:27 NEW DELHI Americans dismayed by politics in Washington might find something familiar in what's happening in India. Here, frustration with government has turned into rage. Last month's gruesome gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman brought tens of thousands onto the streets. And while the protests have subsided, the anger is still palpable and media attention continues to highlight the problem of violence against women. More than a year ago, millions joined in nationwide protests against corruption. "The Indian people are the best in the world," Arvind Kejriwal, one of the chief organizers of the anti-corruption crusade, told me. "But they have the worst governance, the worst politics." In fact, the protests and rage are signs of India's development. Read full article >>   | |
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