Adam Smith, the father of capitalism, walked with Jesus in at least one respect: his support for progressive taxation. That's the principle that taxes should be based on ability to pay...

(NNPA) - One of the biggest decisions of the young Administration of President Barack Obama will be made a few days after this is written on the strategy of the war in Afghanistan. A CNN poll has just come out that suggests the decision will be confronted by a public – of which I am one -- that opposes the war by 62 percent and that support for his new strategy to send more troops is split 50-49 percent.

(NNPA) - Let me start by saying that I am thrilled that Tiger Woods is healthy and was not seriously hurt in that accident outside of his home the other night. I selfishly want to see him continue to lay waste to his peers, because I am a huge Tiger Woods fan.
But that said, there are still some things I've heard and read about this accident that seem to defy common sense, and because of that, the old reporter in me is overriding the fan.

The tragic beating death of James Chasse at the hands of Portland Police was frightening. The MAX train security video that showed a Portland officer shooting a bean bag gun at point blank range into a 12-year-old girl's leg was disturbing – in part because the shooter was one of the same officers who helped beat Chasse to death.

(NNPA) - This summer, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski described universal broadband Internet access as this generation's infrastructure challenge. He compared it to building our nation's railroads and highways and electrical grid. The commission has been working since that time to create a National Broadband Plan, as mandated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The level of gun usage and the epidemic of violence in communities across the country has hit an astronomical level. According to the Violence Policy Center, firearms are the second most frequent cause of death overall for Americans aged 15-24. If we are not fed up and outraged already, the time to stand up and do something is NOW. We cannot sit idly by and watch our innocent children die so senselessly. Nor can we run from the underlying issues that lead some young people to pick up a gun in the first place, and in turn, ruin their own lives.

(NNPA) - As we prepare to advocate for universal health care in the United States Senate one issue that impacts people's health is the quality of food available to them. Wealthy people tend to have better health in part due to their diet of quality foods. Conversely, poor peoples' poor health is usually predicated on their choices in food.

The word apartheid has slipped from our daily vocabulary. It is not a part of the news coverage we read each day and school children are more than likely not taught about this political construct. But 25 years ago, apartheid in South Africa was the number one parasite on the collective Black soul. Twenty-five years ago, Black South Africans were controlled by a government that reduced them to slaves in their own country. Black South Africans were denied all political and economic rights and were killed when they raised their voices in protest.

Thanksgiving is a time when many Americans pause to be grateful for all we have. In the current economic downturn when the gap between rich and poor is at the highest level since the Great Depression and the unemployment rate is 10.2 percent, millions of our neighbors, including many families with children, are struggling hard to count their blessings.

Although a House of Representatives ethics committee is known to be looking into the activities of at least 19 members of Congress, the only full-scale investigations underway are against seven Black lawmakers.