It has been more than 20 years since a majority of Americans said they were satisfied with the direction of their country, a period that covers the presidencies of two Republicans and two Democrats. The last time a majority of Americans had a favorable view of the Democratic Party was in August 2009. The Republicans? Except for one poll in January 2020, no majority favorable since April 2005.   read more

More taxes are out of the question for voters in Washington state, even if those feeding the coffers of government are the rich. Residents overwhelmingly rejected a plan during last week’s election to establish a state income tax that would have...   read more

Although there is no record of Islamic law ever being used in a court case in Oklahoma, voters last week approved an amendment to the state constitution that bans the application of Sharia law by judges when deciding cases. The new law also bans...   read more

Forget Congress, argue attorneys Jeanne Mirer and Marjorie Cohn. President Barack Obama has all the authority and resources needed at his disposal to create millions of new jobs for unemployed Americans.   Just as others on the left have remarke...   read more

Retail giant Wal-Mart appears to be getting behind sustainable agricultural practices, which could have a huge impact on farming in the United States. Wal-Mart wants to double sales of locally grown food by 2015, and it wants farmers to be more ...   read more

Martin Joel Erzinger, a billion-dollar money manager from Colorado, hit a bicyclist from behind with his car and drove away. However, he will not face felony hit-and-run charges…because the local district attorney said such a conviction could je...   read more

There were 93 women serving in the U.S. Congress…until last week’s election. The 2010 campaign was not friendly to women, whose numbers in the House and Senate will drop once the 112th Congress convenes. The decline marks the first time in three...   read more

Republicans weren’t the only big winners in the November election. Businesses of all sizes and specialties also benefited from a campaign season in which $4 billion was spent on races.   Those that really made out were broadcasters, which made...   read more

Whether the objective is to help the dairy industry or feed the poor, governments are pushing cheese to help cure their economic ills.   In the United States, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) is working at cross-purposes in assisting the D...   read more

Five Somali men who mistook a U.S. warship for a merchant vessel on April 1 will go on trial this week in the first case of piracy the government has tried since the Civil War.   The defendants are accused of firing assault rifles in April at ...   read more

The U.S. Department of Labor is taking a mining company to court for preventing a federal inspector from examining a sand and gravel rock-crushing operation near Weippe, Idaho.   Scott Amos, an inspector with the Mine Safety and Health Adminis...   read more

If AT&T has its way, the telecom giant and other corporations won’t be subject to class-action lawsuits by consumers.   In a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court (AT&T Mobility vs. Concepcion), the company will argue that the cell phone ...   read more

The key to winning many of year’s contested congressional races was getting more help from outside groups than the other side from groups that either accept unlimited contributions or do not disclose the source of their money.   In 58 out of 7...   read more

Following the controversies surrounding detainee interrogations during the Bush administration, the Department of Defense has issued new regulations formally banning the use of private contractors to grill suspected terrorists held by the U.S. m...   read more

Survivors of the deadly gas-pipeline explosion that occurred September 9th in San Bruno, California, are suing Pacific Gas & Electric for causing the disaster. Among the claims leveled at PG&E is the assertion that the company received $5 millio...   read more

Joseph H. Boardman was appointed president and chief executive officer by Amtrak’s Board of Directors, effective November 26, 2008.   A native of Taberg, New York, Boardman was raised, the second of eight children, on a dairy farm in Oneida Co...   read more

On Tuesday, voters in California rejected a proposal to legalize marijuana for people over the age of 21. Proposition 19 lost 54% to 46%, with 11 of the state’s 58 counties voting in favor and 47 voting against. What may appear surprising to many ...   read more