That day in July was one that Tammy Morse won't soon forget. Five months earlier, her husband had lost his job as a recruiter for the financial services industry. Now it was the summer and the family savings were gone. She saw no way to get health insurance coverage for her family other than to apply for Medicaid. ...more

December 22, 2008

A half-century ago, an East German communist demanded that the people exhibit more confidence in their rulers. "Would it not be easier," the poet Bertolt Brecht responded, "for the government to dissolve the people and elect another?" Though aimed at a long-ago Stalinist, Brecht's gibe comes alarmingly close to describing how legislators in many states keep themselves in power. ...more

November 8, 2008

an annual practice where we "spring forward, fall back." This year, we "fall back" at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 2. ...more

November 1, 2008

We'll take Hillsborough County Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson at his word that the problem experienced posting vote tallies there Tuesday night wasn't the fault of the county's still-new optical-scanning voting system. In Pasco and Pinellas, which like Hillsborough and other Florida counties were forced to switch to optical scanning by the Legislatures, things also went fairly well. ...more

August 30, 2008

Somewhere during my formative years my educational growth stumbled. At least in the opinion of some legislatures and political correctiveists. Somehow the concept of evolution not only didn't appear contrary to my religious upbringing it seemed logical and rational. ...more

May 17, 2008

State legislatures have for years had a habit of increasing "sin taxes" - mostly on liquor and tobacco - to raise revenue. This year will be no different. ...more

February 13, 2008

The two brides from Massachusetts got dolled up in white and made their way down the staircase at the Highlands Inn, a guesthouse for women tucked away in the New Hampshire woods. ...more

October 28, 2007

A judge struck down a New York City rule Tuesday that required fast-food restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus. ...more

September 12, 2007