While Congress began another round of government by brinkmanship and self-inflicted wound I stumbled upon a couple of maps of the United States today that offer a depressing update not on the nation s highway system perhaps on the American dream The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities digs a

Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly took some heat this week from Peter Finney writing in New Orleans archdiocesan paper the Clarion Herald where he serves as Executive Editor During a couple of frustrating losses this season you didn t need to be a lip-reader to figure out what Kelly was we

Last-ditch efforts by U S and European diplomats to turn back an appeal for statehood for Palestine at the United Nations are ongoing today But so far they appear to have done little to deter Palestinians from a last-ditch effort of their own an attempt to shock the long moribund Oslo Accords ne

If you have gotten into the habit of scanning the list of ingredients of the processed food you buy at your local supermarket get ready to look for something new Or more to the point mdash not ldquo Corn sugar rdquo may soon be showing up in the fine print along the side or the bottom of your f

The U S Census Bureau announced today that median household income declined in 2010 and the poverty rate increased The bureau reported the highest numbers of people living in poverty in the 52 years it has collected such estimates There were 46 2 million people in poverty in 2010 up from 43 6 mi

The Irish government spent the last few days pondering the official response from the Vatican on the Cloyne Report and the uproar which ensured upon its publication Basically they offer a thank you for your response but we stand by everything we said to the curia including the remarkably bitter

clap your hands Here s the neat takeaway from Rod Dreher registering his disgust at Real Clear Religion as the applauseometer jumped when Gov Rick Perry defended Texas indefensible record on capital punishment It is worth contemplating why it is that conservatives who believe the government

As a threatened U N showdown over Palestinian statehood approaches are tensions on the rise between settlers and Palestinians on the West Bank Recent Israeli approval of hundreds of new housing units for settlers has needless to say irritated Palestinians who remain committed to the two-state opt

The U S bishops released their annual Labor Day statement on Aug 24 Penned by Stockton Calif Bishop Stephen Blaire ldquo Human Costs and Moral Challenges of a Broken Economy nbsp will likely prove notable for observations that in years past would have hardly seemed controversial his reitera

The unexpectedly rapid fall of the house of Qaddafi has given many in the media an opportunity to speculate on whether the rebel victory constitutes a political ldquo win rdquo for Obama His controversial decision to involve U S forces in the campaign to oust the colonel six months ago was much