Newsday

"It could be huge," said economist Len Nichols of the nonpartisan New American Foundation, who supports the idea. Yet many lawmakers on both sides of the ...

Schumer's approach is based on work by economist Len Nichols of the think tank New America Foundation. His compromise could cost more and save less, said Karen Davis of The Commonwealth Fund, but would still work. The final health-care bill might drop ...

The United States peddled $32 billion in weapons in 2007 according to The New America Foundation, a nonpartisan, nonprofit public policy institute. ...

Without independents, will McCain, Obama falter? (Newsday) "Certainly, closed primaries are better for those who have a stronger following among party faithful," said Steven Hill, the director of the political reform program for the nonpartisan New America Foundation.

"Iowa picks corn, New Hampshire picks presidents," goes the old Granite State-boosting saying. We shall see. But in the meantime, the presidential wheat is being separated from the chaff, to change the metaphor. And amid the excitement of the presidential horse races, we might pause over just one of the urgent challenges that the 44th president will confront -- and sadly, in terms of policy, there's plenty of chaff, not much wheat. Pakistan, for example, is home… more

So who's going to win the Iowa caucuses tonight?

History tells us that the winner will be the candidate of the base -- that is, the candidate who most appeals to the hard-core activists, those determined folk who have the patience for a lengthy public nose-counting session at a caucus site, as opposed to a quick dash in and out of a voting booth.

So Iowa caucusers concern themselves with ideological purity -- while, on the other hand, New Hampshire primary voters… more

My New Year's resolutions:

I resolve to worry more about Pakistan's 75-weapon nuclear stockpile than about global warming. I am more worried about being incinerated by a loose nuke than I am about the water table rising a few feet.

Yet, I also resolve to worry more about global warming than about democracy in Pakistan. Democracy is wonderful, but only for people who want it, and who are willing to play by its rules. Democracy without self-discipline is a formula for, well,… more

In American history, Christmastime has been wartime many times. And yet, in past conflicts our country seemed more motivated to win than it does today.

On Christmas Day 1776, Gen. George Washington crossed the Delaware River into New Jersey to attack the Hessian mercenaries at Trenton. The password for the day was "Victory or Death." 'Nuff said.

During the Civil War, on Dec. 20, 1864, Union General William T. Sherman completed his legendary -- Southerners say infamous -- March to the Sea.… more

Is Mike Huckabee a fascist? That's the insinuation from Ron Paul, one of Huckabee's rivals for the Republican presidential nomination.

And it's a cheap shot. One needn't agree with, or even like, Huckabee to know that throwing around the f-word "fascism" is a low blow.

This story is important, because it speaks to the larger question of whether Christians can fully participate in politics without being slurred. Here's the context: Huckabee ran a TV spot in which the former Arkansas governor wishes… more

Inside the mind of Mike Bloomberg, mayor of New York City:

Could the Democratic nomination really go to Barack Obama -- you know, middle name Hussein?

And could the Republican nomination really go to Mike Huckleberry? I mean Huck Finn; I mean Huckabee. Whatever.

This is the best the two parties can do? In which case, maybe I should reactivate my own presidential ambitions -- because I can beat those two, running right down the middle, in between the Third Worlder and the… more