the blatant patronage ... is shocking and disgraceful.

The fine print in the President's Social Security proposal is that all present and future workers under age 55 will have their promised retirement benefits cut.

Once again, the Republicans in the Senate have rejected an increase in the minimum wage. They support tax breaks for multi-millionaires, but they oppose helping the working poor to earn a decent income.

Mercury emissions will continue to harm the environment and to endanger the health of children and pregnant women, until this Administration puts public health before politics.

If the economy is strained, then Social Security, like the rest of the government, will be, too.

The successful election in Iraq was an important step toward establishing an independent democracy in that country. Tremendous credit should go to the U.S. Armed Forces, who made voting possible throughout much of the country, and to the millions of Iraqi citizens, who risked their lives to vote.