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October 15, 2009

Science and the Female Brain By Froma Harrop

The recent award of Nobel Prizes in biology and chemistry to three women dredges up Larry Summers' suggestion in 2005 that differences in the female brain may account for the dearth of top women scientists. Now President Obama's economic adviser, Summers was then speechifying as president of Harvard.

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October 15, 2009

56% Favor State Lotteries as Revenue Source

Most Americans like state lotteries and think they’re one thing that state governments should run them rather than the private sector.

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October 15, 2009

New Jersey Governor: Christie 45%, Corzine 41%, Daggett 9%

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in New Jersey shows Republican challenger Chris Christie clinging to the lead in a fluid and volatile race that may come down to how many votes independent candidate Chris Daggett gets. Incumbent Democratic Governor Jon Corzine has closed the gap to make the race competitive but still attracts very low levels of support.

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October 15, 2009

2010 Pennsylvania Democratic Primary: Specter 46%, Sestak 42%

So much for Arlen Specter’s party switch to avoid a risky primary. The incumbent Pennsylvania senator’s 2010 Democratic Primary race against challenger Joe Sestak is now a toss-up.

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October 15, 2009

A Nobel for Defeating Cheneyism By Joe Conason

Outraged babble and sanctimonious tut-tutting over President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize will pour forth until the very evening he accepts the prize in Oslo, and then for years afterward. His critics are infuriated, they say, because he didn't earn the prestigious award, or because he didn't refuse it -- or just because those left-wing Norwegians have a lot of nerve. How dare they insult us by bestowing their highest honor on the president of the United States and inviting him to deliver a lecture?

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October 15, 2009

The Trouble With Health Care Is Paying for It By Michael Barone

The legislative process can also be a learning process, and as Congress considers health care legislation -- the latest act being the Senate Finance Committee's vote in favor of Chairman Max Baucus' bill, or "conceptual language" -- we have been learning something useful. It's that legislators would like to provide generous, even gold-plated health insurance coverage to almost all Americans, but that no one wants to pay for it.

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October 14, 2009

34% Say U.S. is Heading in Right Direction

Voter perception of the nation's current course holds steady this week, with 34% saying the United States is heading in the right direction, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

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October 14, 2009

39% Say Health Costs Will Go Down Only When Americans Change Their Lifestyle

Some experts have argued during the current health care reform debate that behavioral changes are needed before costs will come down in America.

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October 14, 2009

Most Want Government To Sell Amtrak, GM and Chrysler

The British government is selling a number of things it owns to pay off its growing debt, but voters have mixed feelings about the U.S. government doing the same thing. Amtrak and the ownership stakes in General Motors and Chrysler can go, as far as voters are concerned, but don’t touch the government’s land and the U.S. Postal Service.

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October 14, 2009

Obama's Middle Class Betrayal By Howard Rich

As much as the Beltway chattering class refuses to admit it, Barack Obama's electoral victory last year had nothing to do with his oft-repeated, generic pledge to bring "hope and change" to Washington, D.C.

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October 14, 2009

Washington Is Nuts By Tony Blankley

Want to hear a real laugher? Despite the current disharmony in politics, there's one policy on which all of Washington agrees. Republicans and Democrats, House and Senate, president and Congress all agree that after last fall's financial crisis, the federal government has to regulate the financial industry more closely to protect our economy from risk of systemic financial collapse.

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October 14, 2009

2010 Pennsylvania Senate: Toomey Leads Specter, Runs Even With Sestak

Republican-turned-Democratic Senator Arlen Specter trails potential GOP challenger Pat Toomey by five points in an early look at Pennsylvania's 2010 Senate race. But another Democrat, Joe Sestak, runs dead-even with the likely Republican candidate.

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October 14, 2009

The Promise of Peace By Susan Estrich

OK, so President Barack Obama hasn't accomplished enough to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize under the conventional approach.

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October 14, 2009

30% Say Overweight Workers Should Pay More for Health Insurance

North Carolina is about to become the second state to penalize its employees for being obese, but just 30% of Americans favor making government workers who are overweight pay more for their health insurance.

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October 13, 2009

Pessimism: Obama's Political Ally By Dick Morris

President Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize, but nobody thinks he deserves the Nobel in economics. Despite $800 billion of economic stimulus and the accumulation of a $1.4 trillion deficit, he has been unable to lower the unemployment rate below 9.8%.

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October 13, 2009

GOP Advantage Slips to Two Points on Generic Ballot

Support for Republican congressional candidates dipped slightly this week in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot.

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October 13, 2009

Confidence in Housing Values Jumps

Americans are more confident than they’ve been all year that housing values are going up and also are more likely to say their home is worth more than they owe on it. But they still don’t think it’s a good time to be selling.

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October 13, 2009

56% Say U.S. Government Policies Encourage Illegal Immigration

U.S. voters want aggressive action to restrict illegal immigration, but they don’t think immigrants should bear the brunt of the enforcement efforts on their own. Most say the federal government and those hiring illegal immigrants also need to be brought into the discussion.

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October 13, 2009

Weary of Culinary Spectacle, Spending and Sport By Froma Harrop

I must be the only "foodie" who didn't love "Julie & Julia," the movie about Julia Child and the office worker she inspired, Julie Powell. Am I allowed?

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October 13, 2009

Virginia Governor: McDonnell 50%, Deeds 43%

Republican Robert F. McDonnell still holds a seven-point lead over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds in the race for Virginia governor.