Politics Information
Biden and Trump — Does Age Matter?
John F. Kennedy was 43 years old when he was elected to serve as President of the United States in 1960. His age did not hurt him on election day.
Trump's Socialist Attack on Americans' Health and Medical INnovations Must Be Stopped
Imagine if Barack Obama signed an executive order implementing socialist price controls on prescription drugs. And suppose that decision limited the drugs available to patients, dried up funding for innovative new treatments and resulted in the unnecessary deaths of thousands of Americans a year.
Jimmy Lai, The Billionaire Freedom Fighter
Hong Kong police arrested billionaire publisher Jimmy Lai on August 10, releasing him two days later. His "crime" was to express opposition to the mainland Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) aggression against Hong Kong - both in person and through the newspapers and magazines that he owns.
Trump's Prescription Drug Pricing Reform Will Have Unintended Consequences
President Trump just signed an executive order that aims to tackle U.S. prescription drug spending.. The order pegs the prices of certain drugs covered by Medicare to the lower prices paid in other developed countries, whose governments impose strict price controls.
5 Financial Pressure Points To Evaluate During COVID Times
Financial pressure is a part of life for most people, and now the COVID-19 pandemic has brought new financial pressure points or exacerbated existing ones for many individuals and families.
For Patients, Insurers Must Count the Coupons
COVID-19 is ravaging the nation - and taking a devastating toll on those living with chronic illnesses.
Some of America's Problems Can Be Fixed
Some of America's problems can be fixed. Voting in the November election should not be a problem for Americans. Open the polls for at least two days. Every state should open their polls from 6 AM until 8 PM. Some states already have later evening hours like Californians who may vote until 8 PM and New Yorkers who may vote as late as 9 PM.
Congress: Let's Talk About Trade Enforcement
The Trump administration has set an ambitious trade agenda for the remainder of 2020. In a House Ways and Means Committee hearing earlier this summer, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer stressed the president's intent to crack down on foreign countries that discriminate against American business and innovators.
Get Ready for an American Energy Comeback
Judging from the headlines, America's energy sector could collapse at any moment. Scattered amidst coronavirus coverage are reports of plummeting energy stocks and commodities traders paying people to take barrels of oil off their hands.
Every American Has Troubles
Everybody has troubles. If you don't believe it then ask any American living in the year 2020.
The Problem with Inheritance Taxes
A recent opinion piece in The New York Times, "Tax the Rich and Their Heirs — more fairly," was both reassuring and refreshing. It was reassuring to know that policy debates about relatively prosaic public policy issues continue to be debated, even though the country is convulsed with violent unrest and pandemic-related stresses. It is refreshing that the tone of the writer, New York University law professor Lily Batchelder, was measured and civil at a time when so much writing is shrill and strident.
This Healthcare "Watchdog" is No Friend of Coronavirus Patients
Finally, there's a bit of good news in the fight against COVID-19.
Gutting Patent Protections Won't Cure COVID-19
To ensure that coronavirus vaccines and treatments are "available at a price affordable to all people," Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky and several other House Democrats recently proposed a radical solution to the coronavirus pandemic -- commandeer any lifesaving, yet-to-be-created vaccine and allow the government to set "reasonable" prices.
Trump Proves Black Workers Matter
President Trump recently suspended nearly all guest-worker programs for the rest of the year. This historic executive order will open up more than 500,000 jobs to Americans -- and it'll disproportionately help Black citizens.
The World Can Thank President Trump for the Oil Deal
In the midst of a pandemic, President Trump was able to convince the second and third largest crude oil producing countries to voluntarily cut production. In so doing he may have saved global financial markets, the U.S. energy industry -- and the U.S. economy.
Trump Administration Ends Pharmacy Coupons When Patients Need Them Most
For chronically ill Americans, the economic damage from COVID-19 could be nearly as life-threatening as the virus itself. More than 40 million workers have filed for unemployment since the beginning of the outbreak. For many, the financial challenges of joblessness have made it harder than ever to afford their insurance companies' medication copays.
COVID-19 Cost-Effectiveness Research Deepens Racial Disparities
A newly released study by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), a Boston-based nonprofit, attempts to answer a weighty question: How much should it cost to treat the coronavirus?
"All the News That's Fit to Print," As Long As It Promotes a Progressive Agenda
One hundred and 23 years later, the New York Times still boasts of its alleged objectivity with the phrase "All the News That's Fit to Print" located on the upper left-hand corner of its front page. The slogan was the idea of the paper's owner Adolph S. Ochs in 1897. He meant it as "a declaration of the newspaper's intention to report the news impartially," according to the language arts Website ReadWriteThink.
Enough Subsidies for Electric Vehicles
Americans are naturally wary of electric vehicles (EVs). Salespeople may pitch battery-powered cars as the future, but most drivers see them as an expensive, chancy alternative to petroleum-fueled automobiles. This has been true for more than a century.
Saluting Nation's Unsung Heroes During COVID-19 Pandemic
In spite of the uncertainty that Coronavirus (COVID-19) has caused, there are still many industries filled with hard-working men and women who are continuing to work amid the coronavirus outbreak. From hospitals to delivery services, to physical security companies to pharmacies, to grocery stores, transportation and logistics companies, there are many employees who, while they may not wear capes, are our nation's heroes.
Helping Unemployed Americans
Unemployed Americans need cash. We go to work in return for a paycheck. With unemployment we lose the paycheck. It's a simple but very painful formula for millions of Americans.
Want Racial Justice? Start With Filling Out Your Census
Those living in our nation's poor and minority communities have historically gone undercounted in the U.S. Census. For instance, nearly one million Black Americans went uncounted nationwide in the 2010 Census.
Renewables Alone Can't Save the Planet
Coalville wants to ditch fossil fuels. The Utah city has pledged to draw its electricity from 100 percent renewable sources by 2030. From California to New Hampshire, dozens of cities have set similar goals.
America's Unique Approach to Innovation Will Cure COVID-19
Scientists have responded to COVID-19 with unprecedented speed. Just months after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, clinical trials are already underway for nearly 200 vaccines and therapies.
Summer 2020 COVID-19 Data in Pennsylvania: What We Don't Know
The COVID-19 coronavirus is a novel virus, and everybody who claims they have it figured out is living under an illusion. Our knowledge is growing, but it is still very fragmented. Our local politicians have been cautious because of the vast unknown; we have never been here before.
Whose Life Doesn't Matter?
I understand and affirm that black lives matter. Some of my dearest friends are black people. I love them and they matter. There are many black people, who I do not know, but they matter just the same.
Move These Projects Forward and Get America Back to Work
With more than 40 million Americans out of a job due to the coronavirus pandemic, states are scrambling to help the unemployed and laying plans to reopen the economy.
Natural Gas Will Power Our Economic Recovery
After months of sheltering in place, Americans are finally returning to their favorite restaurants, stores, and barbershops.
Enough Subsidies for Electric Vehicles
Americans are naturally wary of electric vehicles (EVs). Salespeople may pitch battery-powered cars as the future, but most drivers see them as an expensive, chancy alternative to petroleum-fueled automobiles. This has been true for more than a century.
Now Is Not the Time to Chill Drug Research and Development
As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, all eyes are on the United States for smart strategies, treatments and a cure. The good news: Our biopharmaceutical companies have been working around the clock to deliver help as quickly as possible.
Crack Down on China—But Do It Wisely
The Chinese Communist Party poses a dire threat to America and the rest of the free world. Party leadership actively covered up the initial coronavirus outbreak -- and even persecuted doctors who tried to warn the public. China's leaders hoarded masks and other medical supplies, which resulted in shortages of personal protective equipment in the United States.
The Oil Market Doesn't Need an Intervention
In late spring, oil prices dipped below zero for the first time ever. Futures contracts for May delivery traded as low as negative $37 a barrel, as producers and speculators paid refineries and storage facilities to take excess crude off their hands.
American Biotech Breaks Through on COVID-19
Biotech companies are racing to develop a coronavirus vaccine. Massachusetts-based Moderna, for instance, recently received FDA approval to begin Phase II clinical trials of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine. Pfizer, Novartis, and dozens of lesser-known innovators are close behind.
Coronavirus Reveals the Recklessness of Drug Pricing Reform
A Seattle patient recently became the first American to receive a potential breakthrough vaccine for COVID-19. That vaccine -- developed by Moderna, a Massachusetts biotech start-up -- is one of several experimental coronavirus vaccines and treatments that pharmaceutical firms are developing around the country.
U.S.-Canada Trade Must Prevail Amid Pandemic
The United States-Canada border has been closed to cross-border tourism and other non-essential travel for more than three months.
A Little-Known Law Gave Birth to Google -- and Countless Other Inventions
When Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin spoke to my colleagues at Stanford's technology licensing office in the late 1990s, other search engines already existed.
Intellectual Property Makes Sure Drug Makers Deliver
House Democrats Peter DeFazio, Rosa DeLauro, Lloyd Doggett, and Jan Schakowsky want to nullify intellectual property rights on any experimental treatments for COVID-19. They believe their proposals will prevent "price gouging and profiteering" without harming innovation.
Academic Research Can't End the Pandemic Without Private Backing
Scientists at Yale University and scores more research institutions nationwide are working around the clock to identify potential avenues of diagnosing, preventing, and treating COVID-19. Many of these projects are backed by the federal government's National Institutes of Health. Any one of them could lead to a game-changing insight that helps end this pandemic.
Government Intervention Would Hurt Energy Producers
America's energy sector has seen better days. The recent price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia rocked oil and gas markets -- and the coronavirus outbreak has reduced demand and forced some companies in the renewable sector to stall projects and furlough workers.
New Russia Sanctions Bill Compromises National Security
Russia plans to meddle in the 2020 election, according to a statement jointly issued by the FBI, Department of Justice, and National Security Agency.
