Super Bowl XLVI is history. The sight of a 53-year-old woman unsuccessfully trying to dance and act like she was 21 is but a vague, creepy memory. The commercials, thank goodness, are forgotten. What remains is the National Football League’s insatiable greed for taxpayer subsidies. What always remains is the greed.
AIRFAX, Va.—For more than 30 years, the primary mechanism for crime fighting in the United States has focused on building and expanding the capacity of our prison systems— a phenomenon visible at federal, state and local government levels (with more cells and larger budgets). As scientists, we can spout endless grim statistics—the United States incarcerates more people per capita than any other country, including Russia and China; one in 23 American adults ages 18 to 65 is on probation or parole; one in 28 children has a parent behind bars; and a male born today is likely to be involved in the justice system at alarming rates, including one in three African-Americans, one in six Hispanics and one in 13 Caucasians.
May 2 marked a year since Osama bin Laden was killed. Jose Rodriguez, a former CIA official, is using the occasion to justify the use of torture, euphemistically called “enhanced interrogation techniques,” claiming that the key information leading to bin Laden’s being located was obtained through torture. Rodriguez believes that our nation has become reluctant to use torture, and that this will imperil our security and cost American lives.
On April 15, The Buffalo News published the article “What’s the Bills game plan?” in which Chief Executive Officer Russ Brandon stated that the study being conducted by Populous, an architectural firm based in Kansas City, Mo., is all but complete and that the Bills believe their best option is to renovate the current stadium, which will require a minimum of $200 million, much of it in the form of public funds. Predictably, from supporters we are hearing how important the Bills are to the community and local economy; whereas, those opposed argue that there are much better ways to spend taxpayer dollars than subsidizing a profitable business, much of whose profits are enjoyed elsewhere.
At the risk of having my membership in the Republican Party revoked, I believe there are a lot of positives in President Obama’s health care reform law, and that logical members of my party should leverage those strengths to fix a system everyone agrees is fatally flawed.
Politicians, even those who vilify corporate America, inevitably laud small businesses. They are right to appreciate the enormous role that entrepreneurship plays in the U.S. economy, but it’s not clear how much public policy can do to conjure up entrepreneurs.
Climate change is real, already occurring and principally caused by human activity. If we don’t act soon, we’ll be cooked — figuratively and literally.
They still don’t get it. Every four years, presidential candidates pledge allegiance to American manufacturing and profess a love for “Made in America.” But when the going gets tough, no presidential candidate can match this rhetoric with action.
When the price of gasoline rises, the supply of hot air expands. Just look at the recent GOP attacks blaming President Obama for prices that exceed $4 a gallon in some parts of the country. Not only is Obama responsible, according to some Republicans, he’s downright pleased. As Mitt Romney told Fox News, “There’s no question that when he ran for office, he said he wanted to see gasoline prices go up.”
Easter was a busy time around the City Mission. Many donations started coming in, and we will be working in this season of rebirth to renew and rehabilitate the poor and needy in Buffalo. Those donations could be bigger, though, and we could help more individuals be renewed, if Congress corrects one of its own mistakes.
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