The execution Tuesday of the Washington, D.C. sniper killer and the unfolding investigation of last week’s murder spree at Fort Hood, Texas have again put the spotlight on the death penalty, one of the most hotly contested issues in the United States for years.
Anniversaries are opportunities to reflect on the past and on what it might mean for the future. Monday saw the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, even if Barack Obama could not find time to travel once again to Berlin to attend the commemoration there. And Wednesday is the 91st anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I.
Within hours after the House of Representatives approved health care reform by a narrow margin, Republicans predicted retribution at the polls next fall. They promised to make every Democrat regret that historic vote as the first step toward the reversal of power in Washington.
Forty-five percent (45%) of U.S. voters now give President Obama poor marks for his handling of the economy, the highest level of disapproval this year.
In Las Vegas, house prices have dropped 55 percent since peaking in August 2006, and the foreclosure rate is seven times the national average. Gigantic new condo towers sit nearly empty (real-estate pros call them "see-through buildings"), and unemployment tops 13 percent. The recession has sent casino revenues plunging 20 percent from two years ago.
Thirty-four percent (34%) of voters now say the United States is heading in the right direction, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
Nearly one-out-of-four Americans (24%) say they watch daytime television host Oprah Winfrey's program at least occasionally. Eight percent (8%) watch at least once a week, with five percent (5%) watching every day or nearly every day.
After being knocked out of first place last month for the first time in nearly two years, the economy is back as the issue voters view as most important.
You've got to hand it to Nancy Pelosi. Love her or hate her -- and there are probably more people in the second category than the first -- you can't deny the enormity of her accomplishment. She did something very, very big.
Sixty percent (60%) of likely voters nationwide say last week's shootings at Fort Hood should be investigated by military authorities as a terrorist act.
I write this week from New Orleans, where I am participating in the Bipartisan Policy Center's Inaugural Political Summit, organized by Tom Daschle, Howard Baker and Bob Dole and hosted by Mary Matalin and James Carville.
As the nation honors its veterans today, 81% of Americans say they have a favorable opinion of the U.S. military, the highest finding in five years of surveying by Rasmussen Reports.
Republican candidates have stretched their lead over Democrats to six points in the Generic Congressional Ballot.
Sixty-six percent (66%) of American adults believe military service is more stressful than most other occupations, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
California is expected to implement energy-conserving regulations any day now that manufacturers and retailers say will in effect ban the sale of big-screen TVs in the state. Other states are likely to follow the Golden State’s “green” initiative in the months ahead.
“I wanna grow up to be a politician. …” Just don’t tell your folks.
There have been two views on what happened last week when Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire on unarmed military colleagues at Fort Hood, Texas, killing 12 soldiers and one civilian. The politically correct version blames a lonely soldier's personal meltdown, precipitated by the fear of being deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.
It is the duty of every pundit to be all-knowing on what the recent elections mean for the future of American politics. They may have only three dots to connect -- and two dots may have been state-level contests mostly about local issues -- but the confident ones plot detailed maps of political change.
Forty-four percent (44%) of regular airline travelers say the increase in ticket prices during the holidays is keeping them from flying over Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Twenty-eight percent (28%) of adults nationwide believe that veterans of today’s conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan face more challenges when they return home than veterans of the Vietnam War.
