President Barack Obama

Celebrate National Park Week April 16-24

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Experience Nature in the Wild on the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service – America’s national parks, monuments and lands are uniquely different — in their make-up and their locale — but they all seek to tell a part of America’s story. National Park Week is coming up April 16-24 in one of the…

President Obama Nominates Moderate Judge for Supreme Court

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By Glynn Wilson – President Barack Obama nominated veteran appeals court judge Merrick Garland of Illinois to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, a moderate intended to head off a political showdown with Senate Republicans who vow to block any nominee to the high court by this controversial Democratic president. Garland, 63, now serves as…

‘No Child Left Behind Act’ Bites the Dust: Obama Signs New Education Law Shifting Power to the States

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By Glynn Wilson – Finally, the despised and unworkable George W. Bush-Republican Congress “No Child Left Behind Act” is history. President Obama on Thursday signed a new law, which passed the House and Senate with rare bipartisan support, called the “Every Student Succeeds Act,” which gives state governments the power to evaluate schools and determine…

Solid Arguments: Why President Obama Should Pardon Don Siegelman

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By Glynn Wilson – When we were young and naive, back in the day before the Bush Years, we consumed the government and American history text books that told us how the judicial branch of government is supposed to be above politics. When I first set foot in a newsroom across the street from a…

Threat of ‘Terrorism’ Rises in U.S. Public Opinion

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By Frank Newport and Glynn Wilson – The terrorist attacks in Paris that killed more than 120 people and wounded more than 400 put the issue of “terrorism” back at the top of the news agenda in the U.S. and moved the issue more into the consciousness of the American people, according to the latest…

Americans With Government Insurance Are Most Satisfied with Health Care System

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By Rebecca Riffkin and Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — Contrary to the conventional wisdom among conservative Republicans on the national presidential stage, in Congress and in the mainstream and social media circus, Americans with government health care plans are far more satisfied than those with private, corporate plans, according to the latest Gallup poll…

A Sincere Reason Joe Biden Decided Not to Run for President

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By E.J. Dionne Jr. – WASHINGTON, D.C. – It was a withdrawal speech that sounded like an announcement speech, and it perfectly captured the aching ambivalence of Joe Biden. He wanted to run for president. He had his issues. He had President Obama’s record and was proud to defend it. And the man who noted…

Solar Power Set for Record Year, in Spite of Critics on the Right

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By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – In spite of the naysayers on the political right, solar power continues to grow as a significant source of energy in the economy of the United States, setting records every year, according to a new report out from the Solar Energy Industries Association. Out of all new electricity…

Democratic Party Reclaims Edge in Favorable Ratings as Republicans Drop

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By Andrew Dugan WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the 2016 presidential race increasingly dominates political news, Gallup is now reporting that the Democratic Party has regained it historical edge over the Republican Party in favorability ratings, a fact which may have implications for the White House race. As of the latest public opinion poll on the…

Escape the City, Summer Heat and Bad News: Visit Shenandoah

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The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK, Va. – It’s cool in the mountains this Sunday morning at first light. The birds are singing and the does and fawns are starting to move around. A few drops of water are still dripping down on the canopy from the trees, remnants of…