Media

Last week, I wrote about how strong majorities of Americans not only believe the climate is changing but also that human activity is causing it. Congressional inaction, therefore, ignores the priorities and concerns of the majority. However, while the oil and gas lobby does heavily influence Congress’ actions, is its inaction also a result of the lack of climate change policy as a priority for most Americans?

In the aftermath of the Newtown massacre, individual rights have gone too far when it comes to guns.

Last Friday, a disturbed man walked into a primary school in central China with a knife and stabbed 22 children and adult. All of them survived. 

Perhaps the most breathtakingly obscene aspect of American society is our absolute and utter refusal to deal with the murderous gun violence that lays its awful blanket of blood and sorrow across the families of thousands upon thousands of victims each and every year.

The first astonishing thing about the nation’s credit reporting system is its sheer massive size: data is compiled and exchanged about 1.3 billion consumer credit accounts pertaining to 200 million American adults. But what’s even more astonishing is how control over this ocean of data – information that can determine whether any one of those 200 million Americans will get a car loan, pay more for insurance, be allowed to rent an apartment, or be considered for a job – is consolidated into just a few hands.

A new poll finds that nearly 80 percent of Americans think global warming is occurring and will be a significant problem if nothing is done to address it. Among those surveyed, the AP-GfK poll found that over 60 percent of people who trust scientists a little or not at all said that temperatures were increasing -- a 14 point jump from 2009. The poll also found that large majorities across the political spectrum believe that the planet is warming.

The Fed's announcement that it would keep interest rates at nearly zero until unemployment falls below 6.5 percent was, by most measures, good news. Although cheap money has proven to be no great solution to a weak economy, it has had some positive effects. Just ask anyone who has managed to refinance their home and now has extra spending money every month. 

Nearly lost among discussions of tax increases and entitlement cuts, long term unemployment benefits are in danger of falling off the edge of fiscal cliff negotiations. Benefits for approximately 2.1 million Americans who have been out of work for more than six months are set to expire at the end of December. This is not only bad news for those 2.1 million, but for the economy as a whole.

The Co-Chairs of the Massachusetts Special Joint Committee on Redistricting today issued a report reviewing their accomplishments and their recommendations on issues they discovered while redrawing the Massachusetts district lines.