Monica Potts

The same day that congressional leaders met in an effort to find bipartisan accord and Obama urged Congress to get beyond “petty politics,” petty politics reigned. Republicans, and a few Democrats, successfully blocked the appointment of Craig Becker, a union lawyer, to the National Labor Relations Board. The scuffle over Becker is part of a […]

President Obama created a task force today that will be part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s effort to address childhood obesity: Members of the task force include: the Secretary of the Interior; the Secretary of Agriculture; Secretary of Health and Human Services; Secretary of Education; Director of the Office of Management and Budget; Assistant to […]

The Indian government has put a hold, pending further study, on approving genetically modified eggplants. Government scientists approved the new crop last year, but this new move from Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh comes in response to public concerns, according to the BBC: The minister said “independent scientific studies” were needed to establish “the safety of […]

The New York Times has a story on what the Republicans hope to offer as a new health-care bill, if the Democrats and President Obama scrap the current legislation, which they are unlikely to do. In their plans, Republicans emphasize a free market — their bill would provide tax credits to individuals and small businesses, […]

It’s not surprising that the response to the Tim Tebow Super Bowl ad was a collective, “All that fuss for that?” The spot mostly features his mom, Pam Tebow gushing about her miracle baby, only to be tackled by the son who grew up to be a Heisman Trophy winner. Both had big smiles for […]

Washington Monthly has a fantastic feature detailing the efforts of ultra-conservatives to rewrite textbooks for Texas schools. Since Texas is such a big market, it will affect what’s in textbooks around the country. The effort had been reported on before, but Mariah Blake adds some history, noting that the involvement of conservatives grew after efforts […]

Many state school systems are facing a “funding cliff” next year when their federal stimulus money runs out, which was the kind of dramatic budget shortfall the stimulus money was meant to prevent in the first place. Most states spent the bulk of the funds last year and this year, and are left with little. […]

Ten American missionaries accused of kidnapping 33 Haitian children were formally charged with abduction and conspiracy by a Haitian court yesterday. Haiti’s ambassador to the United States, Raymond Joseph, says he hopes the move sends the message that Haiti’s government is alive and well after the earthquake. From the Christian Science Monitor: ‘By this action, […]

The arguments against environmental regulation always include the pro-business folks who fear a huge economic hit. That underestimates business. It assumes every company, when faced with new regulations, would roll over, say, “Well, I guess we can’t make profits any more,” and die. It completely leaves out the other response regulation can inspire: innovation and […]

In another sign of President Nicolas Sarkozy‘s growing effort to pander to the country’s right-wing, France’s immigration minister denied citizenship to a man whose French-born Muslim wife wears a burqa. France’s immigration minister said he is refusing citizenship to a Muslim man who called his wife ‘an inferior being,’ and forced her to wear a […]