Froma Harrop from Creators Syndicate

Missiles Aimed at Social Security and Medicare for 02/16/2012

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Missiles are pointed at Social Security and Medicare, the broad-based programs for older Americans. Some are stealth missiles. Some are misguided missiles. But both parties are pointing them.

Democrats and Republicans insist that their monkeying around won't put either popular program in jeopardy. They only talk of fairness and helping those of modest means. In truth, their weapons have ...

Updated: Thu Feb 16, 2012

French Model for American Parents for 02/14/2012

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

One item in the annals of American exceptionalism is how exceptionally badly behaved American children are. We who hang around international airports often marvel at how European toddlers wait calmly while their American cohorts run down the halls or lie sprawled on the floor in a screaming tantrum.

This is a generality, of course, but you know it's a solid one.

Journalist Pamela ...

Updated: Tue Feb 14, 2012

Big Brother Is ‘Sharing' for 02/09/2012

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

My, how you've changed, Big Brother. What happened to the sourpuss in "1984," George Orwell's grim novel about a thought-controlled future? Gone are the piercing eyes and the perennial threat: "Big Brother is Watching."

You've had quite the fashion update. I like how you dress in T-shirts and sweats, just like the proles. I like your boyish grin. No longer a tyrant wi ...

Updated: Thu Feb 09, 2012

What Komen Affair Means for November for 02/07/2012

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

The blowup at Susan G. Komen for the Cure set off a political alarm that Republicans dare not ignore. The leading breast cancer group, Komen tried playing Republican-base politics by cutting its funding to Planned Parenthood for breast-health services. The sisterhood and its allies exploded, and Komen reversed course with abject apologies.

"I have to believe that the Republican Part ...

Updated: Tue Feb 07, 2012

Immigration and ‘Obamacare' Join as Issue for 02/02/2012

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Two of the hottest topics on the political circuit are illegal immigration and "Obamacare." They can come together into a third steaming discussion: How the Democrats' Affordable Care Act of 2010 would hasten America's journey toward a more orderly immigration program.

As a recent article in Health Affairs predicts, once the health care reforms settle in, undocumented immigrant ...

Updated: Thu Feb 02, 2012

In Defense of Southern-fried Paula Deen for 01/31/2012

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Celebrity chef Paula Deen lustily massages salt into "a mighty fat hog," as the dogs circle the cooking island. For the yams, "I'm only using half a stick of butter," she drawls before breaking into high laughter. Deen's popular Food Network show does Southern cooking with no brakes on the pork fat, butter, sugar or other dietarily incorrect ingredients.

Deen is plent ...

Updated: Tue Jan 31, 2012

I Want My Planet Back for 01/26/2012

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Florida is the state that put the first man on the moon, NBC's Brian Williams noted at the Republican presidential debate in Tampa. He asked the candidates, "At a time when you all want to shrink federal spending, should space exploration be a priority?"

Of course it should be, Mitt Romney said. The former Massachusetts governor accused President Obama of having no vision for N ...

Updated: Thu Jan 26, 2012

Being Rich Is Not Mitt's Political Problem for 01/24/2012

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

It's no secret that Mitt Romney is rich. He was born rich and got mega-millions richer as a financier. Nor is it a secret that his income is mostly taxed at 15 percent, a far lower rate than middle-class grunts pay. Nor does he have any obligation to pay more in taxes than he legally owes.

The problem releasing tax returns poses for the former Massachusetts governor is as that he apparen ...

Updated: Tue Jan 24, 2012

How "Downton Abbey" Is More Democratic Than We Are for 01/19/2012

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Every Sunday night, the mega-carriages drop millions of us off at "Downton Abbey," the hit PBS series about an aristocratic family, its English country estate and the complexities of being Them at the dawn of the 20th century. We revel in the patricians' finery, their posture, their free time and their skill at draping the sharpest remarks in tempered rhetoric. And we marvel at their ...

Updated: Thu Jan 19, 2012

Obama's Biggest Threat Was Huntsman for 01/17/2012

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Politically astute Republicans, including many social conservatives, see Mitt Romney as the strongest candidate to beat President Obama in November. The former Massachusetts governor may not be their kind of Republican, but any Republican would be better than Obama, in their opinion.

The view that Romney would be Obama's most formidable foe is accurate — but only as of Monday, when ...

Updated: Tue Jan 17, 2012

The Missing 'Humanity Clause' at Bain for 01/12/2012

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

During the Great Depression, my father toiled in a box factory. The workers were all flat broke, he recalled, and desperate for every nickel. But when overtime hours appeared, the men made sure they went to a guy with kids. The laborers were obeying the unwritten and unenforceable "humanity clause," whereby one gives up some personal gain in deference to another's screaming need.

...

Updated: Thu Jan 12, 2012

Consumer Bureau Protects the Prudent, as Well for 01/10/2012

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Let's set aside the back-and-forth over the recess appointment of Richard Cordray as chief watchdog at the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. President Obama named the former Ohio attorney general to lead the agency when the Senate was supposedly out of session, which he's allowed to do.

Republicans refuse to confirm him without changes that would render the bureau toothless. And ...

Updated: Tue Jan 10, 2012

The Unbearable Consequence of Iowa for 01/05/2012

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

So Mitt Romney "won" Iowa by eight votes, giving him the "Big Mo" (that's momentum) as he marches forth into the primaries. What happened to Rick Santorum's surge? Did a Dodge Caravan full of supporters break down on the way to the gymnasium? I mean, world history has pivoted on less.

About 123,000 people participated in the Iowa Republican caucuses. That's only 19 pe ...

Updated: Thu Jan 05, 2012

'Nuts' to Iran for 01/03/2012

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

When the Germans told Gen. Anthony McAuliffe to surrender his forces in Belgium during World War II, the commander of the 101st Airborne Division famously replied, "Nuts!" The German officers didn't quite get his drift, which was "Go to hell."

Iran has just threatened to block the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf if the United States follows through on a plan to slap ...

Updated: Tue Jan 03, 2012

The Little State That Could? for 12/29/2011

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Rhode Island shouldn't even be a state. It's basically a city, Providence, with some suburbs, factory towns, a little countryside and Newport. The smallest state in area (19 Rhode Islands could fit into California's San Bernardino County), the Ocean State has a population of about 1 million (versus San Bernardino's 210,000).

While many love Little Rhody for its quirkiness, few would reco ...

Updated: Thu Dec 29, 2011

Middle Class Aided Its Own Decline for 12/27/2011

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

This was the Year of the Middle Class — as in, its falling incomes, loss of job security and anger. The global economic forces fueling the decline, such as foreign competition and computers, have been well reported. But what about cultural factors? Is the middle class going down partly because it stopped acting middle class?

For those who remember the American middle's golden era o ...

Updated: Tue Dec 27, 2011

‘Cool' Cities Are Not Necessarily Warm for 12/22/2011

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

The soft economy has left lots of Americans in place, whether they want to be or not. That would include the most mobile group, young people. But to the extent that adults ages 25 to 34 are still moving, their preferred destinations seem to be "cool cities," according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. What are the so-called cool cities? Denver, Houston, Dallas, Seattle, Raleigh, Austin, ...

Updated: Thu Dec 22, 2011

Gifts for the Unemployed for 12/20/2011

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

To many rational economists, holiday gift-giving is "an orgy of wealth-destruction," writes Dan Ariely in The Wall Street Journal. A behavioral economist at Duke University, Ariely makes pro-gifting arguments while acknowledging the bah-humbug view, which goes as follows: Givers often spend money on things others don't necessarily want, and the recipients frequently think the present ...

Updated: Tue Dec 20, 2011

Driving Under the Influence of Cellphones for 12/15/2011

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Moving at a stately 30 miles an hour, the woman drove her tank-like vehicle right through the stop sign and almost through me as I crossed the street. Like the psychiatrist assigning mental illness at the mere sound of crazy shouting, I didn't have to look at the motorist. I just knew from her behavior that she was yakking on a cellphone. Sure enough, she was.

Many of us who play pedestr ...

Updated: Thu Dec 15, 2011

Other Reasons Why French Women Don't Get Fat for 12/13/2011

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Yes, there are those charming reasons "French Women Don't Get Fat," as outlined in the popular book of that name by Mireille Guiliano. Portion control is key. Frenchwomen may eat their famously rich sauces and fatty pates with gusto, but only in dainty amounts. They go for quality over quantity and avoid "diet" foods — said to drain off the hearty flavors that sate ap ...

Updated: Tue Dec 13, 2011