Politics

Just hours after the Republican-dominated House of Representatives passed a measure to strip Planned Parenthood of funding on Friday, the embattled organization hit back, setting the stage for a showdown in what is widely seen as a symbolic effort to repeal the health care law. The Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, sponsored by Indiana…

The vitriol swirling around Michelle Obama’s support of the IRS’ reclassification of breast pumps as a deductible medical expense makes me ill. Conservative commentary from Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and others who accuse the first lady of creating a “nanny state” and catering to special interests — specifically African-American women, who are statistically less likely…

It is very easy to say that we are in an economic crisis and that there is a need to make changes in government budgets at all levels, from the state capitals to Capitol Hill. Some of the choices involved are tough ones, including those proposed by President Obama in his version of the 2012…

It’s hard to imagine that someone who was practically announcing his 2012 White House bid on Fox News Sunday last weekend wouldn’t take the easy out on a hot-button issue when it’s sitting right there for him, but so far, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour won’t do it. In the latest race-relations dustup over Barbour’s unwillingness…

John W. Boyd Jr., the steadfast leader of the National Black Farmers Association, was in high spirits last December. President Barack Obama had just signed a bill authorizing $1.25 billion to settle a long-standing discrimination case filed by thousands of black farmers against the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The feat was hailed as a landmark…

ColorLines’ Shani O. Hilton is reporting that members of the Congressional Black Caucus are angry with President Obama’s announced budget cuts. In his press conference yesterday, Obama insisted that “just like every family in America, the government has to do two things at once: It has to live within its means and it has to…

The Associated Press is reporting that President Barack Obama has won a showdown vote in the GOP-controlled House to kill a costly alternative engine for the Pentagon’s next-generation fighter jet. A flood of Republican freshmen elected on a platform to cut the budget helped President Obama win the costly battle. Many taxpayer watchdog groups weighed…

Last week the Democratic National Committee announced that Charlotte, N.C., would host the 2012 Democratic National Convention. The Queen City wrestled the convention away from more popular cities like Cleveland, Minneapolis and St. Louis, Mo., to take its place on the world’s stage, playing host to no fewer than 30,000 delegates. By all accounts, the…

First lady of the United States Michelle Obama’s quest for the improvement of health continues. Politics Daily is reporting that Mrs. Obama will be speaking out about removing barriers to breast-feeding as a way to reduce childhood obesity. Babies that are breast-fed are less likely to be obese. This comes as the Obama administration in…

It started with H.R. 3, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. Introduced in late January by Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), the bill would prevent tax benefits for health care plans that cover abortion and also change language in the Hyde Amendment that allows government funding for abortion in cases of rape, incest or endangerment…