Oxymoron of the week: Mandatory voluntarism. A lot of candidates are offering volunteer-service ideas to get people more engaged in their country. This columnist likes the plan Chris Dodd came up with most of all:
But the Dodd plan includes a particular position that's worth pursuing by the next president because it drills down beyond the college-age graduate to the budding adulthood of all high school graduates.
These seem to be our choices for president:
"I have served this country honorably -- how dare you criticize a former P.O.W."
"I am your hope for change -- just keep fainting and don't ever ask for specifics."
Of course, some believe that "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain" will mount a comeback, but it's probably time to close that particular barn door.
Apparently a lot of politicians and media heavyweights knew The New York Times had been working on a John McCain scandal story for a long time. It's finally here:
This hardly seems fair:
SAN DIEGO -- A former military contractor was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in federal prison for bribing former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham with cash, ritzy vacations and prostitutes in exchange for help in getting government contracts.
After all, congressmen get only two years for bribing us.
Marion City Council members are considering buying laptops for themselves with tax dollars, and I don't believe this justification for a second:
According to city officials, the computers would be used by council members for checking city e-mail and receiving information in preparation for council meetings.
Those lawmakers are getting just too, too clever:
Arizona may actually do what a lot of gun-rights advocates have been urging:
A committee of the Arizona Legislature is weighing arguments made today over a proposal to let people with permits to carry concealed weapons bring guns to K-12 schools, community colleges and universities.
The Senate's Judiciary Committee listened to more than two hours of testimony about the proposal, but didn't take a vote.
The conventional wisdom is that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are both liberal, but Obama is more so -- he is the "No. 1 liberal" in the Senate, while she sometimes grasps the pragmatics of moderation. When it comes to markets, maybe that's not quite so:
Who was our best president? The top choice of Americans in a new Harris poll:
Far and away, Abraham Lincoln is ranked by Americans as the nation's greatest president, according to a poll conducted by Harris Interactive and released this week, just ahead of Presidents Day.
Politics can be a fun beat to cover sometimes:
GREENWOOD, Ind. -- State Sen. Brent Waltz has filed a complaint with Greenwood police accusing political opponent Michael Beeles of "possible stalking, voyeurism and trespass.''
