Samuel Knight

-According to the New York Times, the Obama administration will soon decide the extent to which the U.S. will assist the French military’s intervention in Mali. At the heart of the issue is a concern that the mission has no end in sight. American aerial refueling aircraft are currently helping the French air force provide […]

Senate Republicans lashed out at their former comrade Chuck Hagel today, blasting the man presumed to be President Obama’s choice to replace Leon Panetta as Defense Secretary. Lindsey Graham called the the likely move “an in-your-face nomination by the president to all of us who are supportive of Israel.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was […]

Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles – co-founders of the corporate lobby Campaign to Fix the Debt – were on Meet the Press this morning. I couldn’t drag myself to watch it because I am sick and tired of hearing every oligarch’s favorite lackeys argue that the national debt is a reason to gut the welfare […]

On “Face The Nation” this morning, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said that Democrats’ wont relinquish their desire to raise tax revenues in the ongoing debate over the federal budget. The California Democrat said that she isn’t interested in raising the income tax rate, but insisted that deductions for corporate America and upper income brackets […]

-Yesterday, President Obama hinted that he might use executive power to avert a debt ceiling related default. “One thing I will not compromise over is whether or not Congress should pay the tab for a bill they’ve already racked up,” he said, raising questions about the trillion dollar coin and 14th amendment solutions. -In a […]

Evening Reads: –Bernie Sanders told MSNBC’s Ed Schultz that he’s ready to do battle with President Obama as Republicans threaten to engineer a government default in February’s debt ceiling negotiations. Sanders said that the White House is all too eager to offer welfare state downsizing in talks with the GOP. “We’ve got to make the […]

Accountants, lawyers and other number crunching nerds are combing through the Fiscal Cliff deal to see what 2013 tax payments might look like. The New York Times has already declared that post-Cliff tax rates might be “the most progressive since 1979.” [The deal] raises the tax rate to 39.6 percent from 35 percent on income […]

Just hours after Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper offered specific proposals on gun control in an interview with CBS’ Denver affiliate, gun violence claimed more lives in Aurora — the town that played host to James Holmes’ movie theater massacre in July. According to the AP: Four people, including an armed suspect, died after an hours-long […]

On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration revealed proposals to reform the country’s food safety regulations, floating rule changes that would affect food manufacturers and fruit and vegetable producers. The initiatives would cost $1.4 billion to implement, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and would take years to be finalized. This could give Congress time […]

Here are some noteworthy non Fiscal Cliff (you’re welcome) related articles: -President Obama said on Thursday that he would attempt to sidestep whistleblower protection provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013. The stipulations would extend safeguards to federal contractors who report waste, fraud and abuse. The Huffington Post’s Ryan Reilly reported that Claire […]