The much-vaunted COP21 negotiations in Paris are, despite the claims of world leaders, dead on arrival. Emissions reductions targets are not up for discussion. Those pledges are already on the table, having been put forward voluntarily by each country. Government negotiators in Paris are instead looking at banal details of how and when countries should commit to improving their voluntary pledges...
The San Bernardino shootings happened at a therapeutic-rehabilitation facility for the developmentally disabled. The author discusses the impact of violence, and the difficulty involved in explaining man-made violence to the developmentally disabled.
Encouraging reason, for violence only begets more violence.
What the president said in his speech Sunday is nothing new: he has been half-heartedly calling on Congress to authorize the war since January. But the White House has put forth no language of their own for a bill that would satisfy their requirements, and the administration has made clear they don't think they really need legislation anyway.
The US Congress passed a five-year, $305 billion highway construction bill Thursday, sending it to President Obama who will sign it into law. The final bill, after protracted bipartisan negotiations, cleared the House of Representatives by a 359-65 vote and passed the Senate by a margin of 83-16. Three Republican senators who are running for president, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, voted against the bill.